The Eternal Avatar
by AncientDoom
Summary: The Avatar cycle. A mechanism built into the avatars so that when they die, another is born. But when Aang went into a coma for a hundred years, the mechanism was sent into a loophole, slowly releasing an ancient evil. Now Korra, Aang, Yue, and others must prepare for a fight which brings fear to even the spirit world, and may shatter the mortal one.
1. Chapter 1 - Meeting Behind Closed Doors

This is an idea I had. It includes a few plot points from Jade Empire and my own novel in order to make it run, but I think overall it will make a very interesting story. I do not claim to know the characters of Korra too well, so I may do not do them right. If that is the case, just let me know and how, and I will research the character more to make it accurate.

Tell me what ya think.

* * *

Aang stood before the giant door and glared at it.

When he was young, he was not restrained from much save for a single door, which he did later open. He was even allowed among the council whenever he pleased! (although they got a little mad if he stormed in during a meeting. Or threw pies.)

Later, after knowing he was the avatar, he had the authority to not be restrained from any place. He even went to the most sacred point in the North to nap in! The only place really he was restrained was the Fire Nation. (War does that.)

As an adult, even this restraint went away. He was allowed in every corner of the world whenever he pleased. There were a few small isolated places the spirits would not allow him in, as his presence might 'disrupt' something they wanted kept isolated. But these places were very small. One of them was a mortal prison guarded by spirits, it turns out. He came to learn it was unknown to mortals, and named Mymphis Ryol by spirits.

Aang didn't like prisons, so he was cool with that.

But now that he was a spirit, it seemed he couldn't walk five... (what is a unit of measurement in the spirit world?) 'somethings' before having a door slammed in his face.

He was being very much restrained.

"This is your air nature, Aang." A voice by him said.

Aang kicked the door. It was made of metal, but he did not hear a sound from the impact, nor did his foot hurt. He huffed and turned around.

Roku stood patiently waiting, as well as other avatars. All of them, in fact. Hundreds and hundreds of avatars were waiting behind them.

"You make it sound like it is a bad thing." Aang replied jokingly.

Roku smiled warmly, "Even here, we cannot escape who we are."

"hm." Aang muttered. He returned his attention to the door. It was solid material of something related to metal. If he had Toph there, she might be able to do something about it, spirit world or not. Toph would understand how he didn't like being restrained every time he tried to go somewhere.

"I don't understand..." Aang began. "we are allowed in most meetings."

Roku nodded.

"How can the spirits call a massive meeting! and NOT include us!" The meeting behind the door was huge. Every single spirit on the mortal world and the spirit world had been called.

Except the avatars, or ex-avatars. Aang's 'replacement' Korra wasn't here either.

"I understand your anxiety, Aang. But we must wait patiently. We will be allowed to know wha-" Aang glared at Roku. Roku stopped.

Aang said, "You are still treating me like a child."

Roku chuckled, "My apologies. This is how I have always been, even to my elders. I was considered a very arrogant youth."

"hm..." Aang said. His attention was caught on someone.

Yue? She was flying to the door rapidly. She collided with the door heavily. She wasn't being allowed in either.

Aang called up, "Don't bother, we already tried that."

She noticed him and drifted down. She was rather upset. She hugged Aang quickly, but her focus was on what was beyond the door.

Turns out, she wasn't called either.

Roku stroked his beard thoughtfully and asked, "Why wouldn't you be called?"

"How am I supposed to know?..." Yue retorted. She walked to the door and kicked it.

"Don't bother. I tried that too." Aang said. "As well as a few of the more hard-headed of... me." Aang motioned with his head to the past avatars.

The past avatars didn't seem bothered by being kept out. They were waiting patiently, most of them.

Roku stroked his beard. "It is peculiar... isn't it? Only Yue is not being allowed in. Millions of spirits have passed through, even the most hated by the spirit council. More than a few of them were exiled to the mortal world, but were allowed in for this one time..."

Aang scratched his head in anxiety. He sighed in deeply and chose to sit. Hard as it seemed, he would have to wait. Thinking only made it worse.

Yue sat with them and bowed her head.

* * *

Inside the door itself was empty space. Whiteness. This whiteness went on for an infinite space in all directions. Within this infinite white abyss floated spirits. Millions of them, trillions, perhaps more. They were beyond count to any who must count. God alone knew their number.

They floated within the space in a hollow orb shape. In the center of this shape resided a few spirits around a cage.

One spirit was a human/dragon. Half of her body was gone, left only by a skeleton. Judging from the other half, she was once very beautiful.

Another spirit was a wise monk ape. He wore the clothes of a monk, and was usually meditating in solitude, but the seriousness of the situation required him.

A third spirit was Koh, the face stealer.

The fourth spirit was encased in shadow and darkness. His form was unseeable within the mist surrounding him.

While these four spirits were the main speakers, many among the council could not help but voice their opinions.

It was an uproar.

"This is an outrage!" One called out.

"An embarrassment!" Another voiced.

"Silence!" The ape spirit called out.

"He was supposed to be dead!" Someone called out, ignoring the ape.

"Quiet!" The ape yelled. He grew furious.

"What are we going to do?!" "What will the mortals do about this!?" "How many of us died the last ti-"

"Be quiet." The shadow spirit said. His voice could barely be heard even if you were floating next to him.

The entire assembly immediately turned silent.

The ape spirit nodded to him in gratitude. He returned his attention to the cage.

The cage was a cylinder of metal rings looped within each other. With so many rings entangled within each other, the inside was barely visible. The sight of ice could be seen from inside. The ice was cracked.

The dragon spirit looked at the ice. The sight pained her. She visibly shook in fear. "What triggered this?" Her gaze never left the ice.

The shadow spirit said, "When Avatar Aang was encased in ice. The "avatar" trigger attempted to create a replacement. However, as he was not dead, the trigger could not reincarnate the avatar. He was in a coma. Locked between life and death. As small a line as it was, my trigger cannot think of itself. It knew only to find a replacement..."

"And attempted to override the seal." She finished for him.

"Correct." The shadow spirit stated flatly.

"How mischievous of a trigger you made, Ethoe." Koh laughed. His face became an infant laughing.

The ape asked, "Didn't we account for any loopholes into the avatar reincarnations?"

"We did take many." The Ethoe responded, "But there are a near infinite number of variables to take into account. Such is life. I did not put into its programming a mechanism to account for when an avatar puts himself into a coma while in the avatar state. There is one for when an opponent puts the avatar into a coma, but not self-inflicted."

"Your oversight will cost us greatly!" Koh laughed again. "Naughty, naughty. When we begin to die, I expect you will be the first to be 'collected'."

"I probably will be." Ehtoe said flatly. No emotion showed, but the black mist began to shift and flow more vibrantly, as though it rippled.

The dragon spirit screamed, "Enough!"

They stopped quarreling and turned to her. She hugged herself and fell to her knees. The ape spirit came to her side and helped her up. Her skeleton side was weak. She needed someone to lean on.

"I'm so sorry," Koh said. His face became a young woman crying her eyes out.

The dragon spirit leaned on the ape, and growled, "Don't mock me, Koh. I was feeding entire civilizations and leveling the ocean while you were still munching on grass tips!"

"Nice to see where that got yo-"

"Enough" Ethoe said. Again, there was silence.

The ape sighed and cleared his throat. "How long do we have Ethoe, until 'He' returns?"

"Approximately five thousand mortal years." Ethoe responded. "My avatar trigger created a monumental crack in 'His' prison, in attempting to free 'Him'."

"That is not long..." The dragon spirit said.

"No, it is not."

"Is there a way to stop the crack from growing?"

"No... Not without starting over. We would have to redo the entire imprisonment mechanism, and the time it would take to replace the old with the new, would be enough for 'him' to break out."

The dragon spirit looked to the ice mournfully.

"I am sorry." Ethoe said simply. The ape looked down sadly, and Koh kept his silence.

"What can we do then?" The dragon spirit asked. "We can't... I cannot, bear to fight 'him' a second time!"

The entire mass of spirits began to voice their opinions in this as well. Collectively, they could not handle the idea of it.

"There are... ways." Ethoe suggested. "There are options, but none will come without causalities. The question becomes, who is the casualty?"

"What are you suggesting?" The ape asked.

"There are a few who have a close connection to 'him'. They can fight him more effectively than any of us. What's more, their death will not be a permanent end. As long as we keep the fight to between mortals, they can continue on as spirits. And I am sure we can all agree, for us to die is not the same as for mortals to die."

The others agreed. If a mortal died, some of them returned as spirits. For a spirit to die, there was no second chance. Spirits had died at times, but none knew what layed beyond, IF anything layed beyond. As far as they knew, there was nothing. God alone knew.

"You are suggesting we have mortals fight a war they cannot win, in our place?" Koh mocked. "Are you scared?"

"Not at all. This is not what I suggest." Ethoe returned, "But, I cannot deny, there are a few mortals who have a special connection to 'him'. As I already said, they should have an effect. Even then, the odds are small. Which is why-"

"Very small." Koh let him know.

"Which is why..." Ethoe started again, "I will lead the fight myself."

The crowd grew silent.

The dragon spirit said, "Ethoe... You cannot be serious..."

"I am." Ethoe responded.

The dragon spirit begged, "You will be at the top of 'his' list if 'he' is freed!"

"I know."

She started to yell something again, but the ape stopped her and walked up to the shadow spirit. Or rather, floated.

The ape spirit said, "What is your plan?"

"I will need to take measures..." Ethoe said flatly. "I will need the aid of Korra's predecessor, Avatar Aang, Avatar Korra herself, many spirits on the mortal world... and Nel'Andra."

Immediately the entire space became a torrent of screams and rants. One whom even Ethoe could not silence, and was almost overcome inside.

The dragon spirit begged him to reconsider, Koh only laughed until he truly cried from the drama.

When the crowd again became peaceful, it had taken quite some time. The collective was not happy. It was not in their best interest for Nel'Andra to be freed of his mortal prison. The only one to be silent and unmoving was the ape and Ethoe. The ape kept his gaze firmly on the cage, and Ethoe... being inside of a shadow made his gaze impossible to ascertain.

The ape spirit sighed and said, "I trust you, Ethoe. I will allow Nel'Andra Thosiline to be freed, and placed under your supervision. Do with him as you wish."

Ethoe began to drift away to leave, but the ape continued, "Just be careful, old friend."

"I know."

The ape whispered to him, "At least for her. You know she has suffered by 'him' more than most. What's more, she cannot bear to lose you." The ape nodded toward the dragon spirit, whose attention had returned to the ice prison.

Ethoe said nothing.

The ape continued, "I know this is something you have to do, but remember this. If worst comes to worst, if Slavian Aeterna is freed. There will be no corner of the Mortal or Spirit world, no crevice, no hole in the ground where you can be safe."

"If worst comes to worst..." Ethoe said flatly, "I won't be hiding."

Ethoe drifted away from the assembly.

The ape watched him leave and sighed. The rest of the assembly began to part as well. Koh left, leaving only the ape and dragon spirit.

The dragon spirit was crying silently. The tears poured through the hole where her cheek was supposed to be on one side, and collected in her mouth. Forcing her to either drool or swallow.

The ape spirit waved his hand over the cage, and the image disappeared.

* * *

The door opened, and this instantly drew the attention of the avatars.

Millions of spirits began to pass by. Yue and Aang moved to the side to keep from being over washed in the tide.

From among the millions to pass by, one very handsome young man, in appearance at least, stopped by Yue and bowed.

"Yue, I did not expect you to be here."

"La..." Yue responded. She narrowed her eyes at him and set her jaw.

He smiled sheepishly.

Unable to stay mad, she hugged him quickly and turned to Aang. "Aang, this is La. My partner."

Aang put his fist to his palm and bowed.

Roku flew out of the tide of spirits going by and looked like he had pulled himself out a raging river. For a spirit he looked mighty exhausted and wet. Aang laughed. Yue chuckled.

La smiled, and turned his attention to Yue. "I am sorry, Yue, that you were kept out."

"Yea..." Aang began. "About that..."

"You too, Avatar. I know I am not of authority, but I am still sorry.

"Yea yea..." Yue said, "La, why were we kept out?"

"You are not old enough. The discussion was only allowed to be heard by the spirits who already knew of the situation, and only discussed by those who had a direct hand in it. As you did not already know, you were kept out of the loop."

Yue growled. "How am I supposed to get 'into the loop' if I am kept out?!"

"That's the idea." La stated. "This is something the higher ups do not want spread out. Outside of the discussion, no one is allowed to speak of it."

"Whaaat!?" Yue yelled. She pouted.

La looked to Aang, "As for the Avatars. Only one of the Avatars, the first one in the cycle, is old enough to know of the situation. Even then, he was kept out as well. As for why, I cannot tell you."

"Whaaat?!" Aang yelled. This time, it was his turn to pout.

La looked between the two pouting and chuckled, "Seriously, you two... I am not allowed to tell anyone."

"In this case, things may change." Someone said.

The tide of spirits leaving came to an end, leaving only three. One was the dragon spirit, another, the ape, and the one to speak was a giant black mist spirit.

Aang noticed the dragon/skeleton/woman was avoiding looking at the shadow spirit entirely as she floated by.

"Ethoe!" La bowed. Yue snapped out of her pout and bowed.

Aang turned to Roku, Roku shrugged. He didn't know who Ethoe was.

Yue, still while in a bow, hissed through her teeth, "Ethoe is amongst the oldest spirits! He is the maker of the Avatars! bow!"

Aang became startled, and bowed hastily. Roku bowed simply.

Ethoe said, "Avatar Roku, as much as I appreciate your patience, your presence is not required. I wish to speak with your replacement, Avatar Aang, as well as Yue and La. Please inform the other Avatar's as well, their presence is not necessary."

Roku understood. He said goodbye and left. The other Avatars left as well.

When Ethoe was alone with La, Yue, Aang, and the ape, he began, "Avatar Aang."

"Yes, shadow avatar making spirit?"

"You are close to your replacement, Korra?"

"uh..." Aang scratched his head. He didn't like the constant use of the word 'replacement'. "I have spoken with her a few times. I have begun to train her in the use of the Avatar State, but I wouldn't say we are particularly close."

"Closer than most, then?"

"We are the same person, technically." Aang said nervously. "We are close. Not that we have gone so far as to discuss how close or anything! We are like family. Like we are one. Not that we are husband and wife 'one'! or even brother and sister! but-"

"Your blabbering." Yue whispered.

"Yes. uh..." Aang coughed, "We are... closer."

"Good." Ethoe said flatly. He appeared undaunted by Aang's nervousness. "A matter has come up in the mortal world. I will need your help in training Korra for the trials to come. They will be great, and both you and her must be up to the task."

"No offense..." Aang began, "But wouldn't you be better at it? Being the 'avatar maker' and all?"

Yue hit him in the shoulder.

"Not that I am declining." Aang finished. He rubbed the bruise that was coming up. "Your just making it sound like it is something greater than just me."

Ethoe said, "Avatar Aang, I do know more about Avatars than you, naturally, but consider this. By whom is knowledge more effectively gained? Through one you know not, or one you know well?"

"I understand." Aang nodded.

"I will help the training," Ethoe continued, "But your presence alone will make it more reassuring, more effective. If you were to take over as much of it as possible, will only make it that much more effective."

Aang bowed.

Ethoe said, "La and Yue."

La and Yue said, "Yes!"

"I will need your aid as well in another way. You two are amongst the spirits with the most authority over the mortal world. I am being given power and authority to influence the mortal world, but your aid will be very great as well."

La said, "I believe I speak for both of us when I say: 'We shall obey.'"

Yue nodded.

"Good." Ethoe said.

Aang raised his hand.

There was silence.

There was more silence.

Aang said impatiently, "I want to speak." Yue hit him in the shoulder again.

"Then do so." Ethoe said flatly.

Aang thought, _Does this guy not understand the concept of a raised hand? Weirdo._

"What exactly do you need our aid for?"

"I will explain the information to you, as the need arises."

_Of course...,_ Aang thought

Yue asked, "What do you want us to do first?"

"First, we must be patient. We must find Korra. Then we begin her training, and head out for Mymphis Ryol."

* * *

Whooo. First chapter done.

What you people think? :)

comment, otherwise I wont know if its good or what! Dont leave me in suspense! I cant tell if I do quality work if I get silence. :(


	2. Chapter 2 - Gathering the Team

Aang looked down at the statue. It was a replica of himself holding a staff. It captured him quite well, his younger self.

"This could complicate things." Ethoe said.

Ethoe drifted next to the spirit of Aang looking at the statue.

Aang struck an identical pose in the air as to the statue. The only differences was the clothes, the lack of holding a staff, his age, and the fact that you could see straight through him. So... pretty much everything. Ethoe did not react.

"How were they able to do it after I was dead? I wasn't around to strike any poses. This captures me quite well. A bit much perhaps, I would have sufficed with a small painting. Everyone in the city must be able to see this from the harbor."

"That is why this complicates things. Everyone will recognize you if I return you as you once were..."

Aang blinked and stared at him a moment. He wasn't sure where Ethoe's eyes were, so he guessed.

"Return me? As in to life? From the dead? Up from the grave?!"

"In a fashion, yes. It will make interaction with the mortal world simpler if we exist within it."

Ethoe began to drift away from the statue and toward an island off the coast of Republic City. Aang followed along. He recognized it as his home.

It was nice to see the place again.

Aang had to wrap his head around the idea of returning to life. It was something he had never considered. His friends were all dead, but his family was very much alive. He could see his son again, hold the grandchildren he had never held, maybe even see his Katara one last time!

HE COULD EAT CABBAGE AGAIN!

"Mr. Shadow Avatar Making Spirit?"

"Just call me Ethoe."

"Ethoe." Aang corrected. "Will I be allowed to see my family again? you know... I return?"

"Yes."

Ethoe drifted into the house. Aang stopped and cheer in silence before following along.

Ethoe said, "You may see whoever you wish. But there are two conditions."

Aang stopped and asked, "Ok?"

They still had not seen anyone. Ethoe searched another room.

"Number one. You may only interact with those we encounter along the way."

"Meaning?" Aang peered into his own room from the past.

Tarlon had the gall to change it! The furniture was nothing like he remembered! The bed was new and... actually. It looked like his son had taken up residence in the room. Considering he was married, that was probably fine. He wondered where his grandkids lived.

"Meaning, if we do not encounter your son or mortal wife along our journey, do not go off looking for them."

"Fine..." Aang crossed his arms. "That shouldn't be too bad. Korra lives here anyway."

"Yes."

They finished searching the entire wing of the house. Nothing. No one was around. Not Korra, not Aang's family, no security, no White Lotus agents.

Remembering there was a second or third wing to the house, Aang lead the way.

"What is the second thing?" Aang floated down the hall to the second wing.

He turned to find Ethoe was gone. Almost on cue, Ethoe passed through the wall nearest to him, frightening Aang.

Right, they were spirits. They could pass through stuff here. They continued their search for people.

"Second condition," Ethoe began. "Is that you may not reveal who you are."

"WHAT!?" Aang yelled. "How can you expect me to be around my family and not be myself?! Thats like being someone else! Im NOT someone else!"

"Do not misunderstand, Avatar. You may not reveal who you are. If they already know, then this condition does not apply."

"How will they know in the first place if I cannot tell them?"

"I will be the one to choose who to tell and when."

"Fine..." Aang acknowledged.

He didn't like so many restraints, but he could live with it.

They finished searching the second wing and still found no one. Turns out, the boat was gone as well. They are all probably on the mainland.

They flew out to the city, and Aang couldn't help admiring how things had changed. The tall buildings were taller, the busy streets were now jam packed, the jam was tastier looking than ever, and the invention of the car had become so much more common place than it had been when he was around.

Searching for Korra in a place as large as this would prove to be a waste of time.

Ethoe said, "Avatar Aang, would you mind asking Korra where she is?"

"One second." Aang stopped and closed his eyes.

* * *

Bolen sat on a stack of earth plates in the gym. He scooped up a bunch of noodles and sipped it all at once in his mouth. He watched Korra and his brother spar.

Ever since the defeat of Ammon, they had never been so awesome. Naturally, it was complicated. Korra and Maka being married was odd. When they fought, the fight was difficult to avoid since they were always around each other. Other times, when it was romantic, it was just creepy.

At the moment, they happened to be holding back on either. Good thing too, he didn't want to be throwing up. These fair noodles were too goo to be upchucked.

Korra dodged a number of fireballs and looped a circle of water around Moka's feet. instead of grabbing his feet, as would be illegal, the circle flew for his head from all directions like a cone.

Moka barely evaded by bending his knees. While already bent down, he performed an upper cut and met air in front of her face.

With his chest exposed, Korra brought water into her fists and pushed him away. The force knocked him back several feet.

The line was still several feet behind him. It wasn't far enough.

The two of them continued to go at it, and Bolin had an ingenious idea. He couldn't help but smirk. He put his bowl down and picked up a number of earth plates.

It wasn't uncommon for unexpected things to happen in a ring. You are supposed to expect the unexpected right?

He punched a plate at them both. Without blinking, they both evaded the plates and responded in kind.

Bolin was knocked off of his feet by water, and pushed further away by fire. He collided with the wall. It was gonna leave a bruise later.

"You guys didn't have to be so rough! Look at this!" Bolin exposed his arm.

The bruise hadn't come up yet.

"What? Your bicep?" Moka mocked.

"Wait for it!"

Still nothing.

"Bro. Don't flirt with my wife please." Moka mocked further. Korra laughed.

"Ok, so technically the bruise isn't showing up yet, but that still hurt!"

"Your fault." Korra let him know.

"Oh well, who needs you!" Bolin looked to Popo. "You pity me don't you?"

Popo looked to him a moment, then jumped into the bowl of noodles Bolin was neglecting.

"Traitor..."

Moka stopped the practice and inspected Bolin's arm. The bruise began to come up. It was barely the size of a dime.

Moka pressed his thumb against it hard.

"AH! STOPSTOPSTOPSTOP!" Bolin screamed. He squirmed and fought against his brother, but Moka had a firm grip on him.

After a moment, Moka stopped and asked, "Want to continue complaining?"

"No!"

"Good, brother." Moka ruffled his head and walked off to remove his gear. Bolin pouted and stuck out his lip.

"Uh... Bro?" Moka closed the closet door and looked over to Bolin. Bolin's attention was on Korra.

Korra's eyes were shining blue.

Moka raised an eyebrow and walked up to her. She was motionless and did not stir. There was no expression on her face, nothing.

Bolin looked as well. Then he smirked. He had another ingenious idea.

* * *

Aang opened his eyes and looked to Ethoe. "She is in the gym practicing with her partners."

"Where is that?" Ethoe asked.

"Uh... Should be... that way. A building covered in gold and with an arena inside of it. It sits over the water."

"Very well. Close your eyes."

Aang closed them.

* * *

"Bro, when she wakes, she is going to freak..." Moka groaned.

"I know!" Bolin said. He was giddy with anticipation.

Bolin closed the pen and tried to put it in his vest. Unfortunately he had no pockets.

"Crap... Bro, hold onto this will you? I don't have any pockets."

"Don't you usually?"

"Yes, but I wanted to try these new jeans. They are comfortable as fur! But lack pockets." Popo straighted. Bolin quickly finished, "Not ferret fur!"

Moka looked at the pen, then to Bolin. "Its a pen... get a new one."

"Bro! how could you?" Bolin narrowed his eyes. "this isnt just some pen! It is the pen our father used to write all of those... important document things. He wrote our birth certificates with it! HE WROTE HIS WILL WITH THIS WONDERFUL PEN! Don't you care that this pen signified our life into this world?! Just think! The line between life and death existed within the confides of this plastic tube! Like some kind of enchanted ink! It-"

"Alright!" Moka took the pen and stuck it in his vest. "Enough already! I'll take the pen, just help me get her somewhere comfortable. If she becomes imbalanced in this state, she will probably gain a concussion."

"Right!" Bolin took one of her arms, and Moka took the other. Together they lead the comatose girl to the net. The net acted as well as a hammock at times.

They turned around to find two boys standing behind them.

The first boy had his eyes closed. He had long black messy hair down to his shoulders. He also had a beard and mustache. His clothes were that of a monk.

The second boy was also dressed as a monk. His hair was white and well cared for. It was long down his back in five braids. The freakish thing was his eyes. The iris of his eyes were pure black, just like the center of his eyes. It made his eyes look huge, deep. It drew you in and captured you. More than that, it made his eyes look haunted, like he was plotting your demise. It didn't help that his face looked emotionless. It was like looking at a psychopath.

Bolin looked happy to find a pair of potential fans had found their way into the gym. Moka was less than pleased at the security. There were supposed to be at least two White Lotus agents outside the door, especially as spooked as they are.

White Lotus had recently been claiming to feel as though something was 'off' in the world. They were becoming fearful, spooked. They were busy searching the world for a problem they could not seem to find the source of. Like a sound they couldn't quite trace.

Korra had been feeling it herself. Her dreams had recently started to be nightmarish. They involved many things. Sometimes she felt there was an assassin in the room or she was going to be betrayed by someone close. Other times she saw herself murdering people she loved, crushing entire villages with fire and light for reasons she did not know, and generally being someone she was not. Bolin did not know of the dreams, but Moka did. comes from sleeping next to her.

Moka said, "Shouldn't you two be with your parents?"

"No." The second boy said flatly.

The first boy said, "Huh? What?" He opened his eyes. He immediately panicked and fell back. "Where am I? Why did the ground hurt?!"

The second boy turned to his friend and said, "I have brought us both here. You are now an adolescent."

"A what?" The first boy looked at his hands. His eyes grew wide. "My hands! I'M ALIVE! Whooo!" He jumped up.

Bolin motioned to Moka the boys were insane.

Korra stood up and seemed as though she had just come out of slumber. There were words written all over her face, and a mustache and goatee.

The first boy said, "Hey Korra!"

Korra looked to him and said, "Do I know you?"

"What?! That's insulting! How can you not recognize me!"

Moka groaned. Definitely fans.

"I am sorry, I don't." Korra responded. She studied them and couldn't help smiling. The boy looked rediculas with so much hair on his head and face. She laughed finally and the two men joined in. They couldn't contain themselves anymore.

"Ok... what's so funny?" The first boy asked, "Is there something on my face? I hate spiders."

"Its not a spider!" Bolin said, "Its the handlebar mustache! I didn't even know you could get them so young!"

"Mustache!" The first boy touched his face and became mortified. He found hair on his head, lip, chin, and now they all noticed he was a uni brow was well.

The second boy said simply, "In that case, perhaps introductions are in order. My name is Ethoe and this is Aang."

Ethoe bowed formally.

"As in... Avatar Aang?" Korra asked.

'Aang' ignored them and turned to Ethoe, "How could you give me so much hair?! I used to have a small beard, but this!"

Ethoe ignored Aang and said, "Yes. This is the former Avatar."

Bolin cheered, "Wow! Its a family reunion! I happen to be a former Avatar as well! Avatar Bolin, at your acquaintance."

Ethoe said, "There was never an Avatar named Bolin..."

"How could you possibly know? There were hundreds of us!"

"If anyone would know, it would be me." Ethoe said matter-of-factly.  
"But, it is clear you all do not believe me..."

"Nope." Moka agreed.

"Perhaps this will change your minds." Ethoe stomped and the ground ruptured around his feet. Then in his palm was a small ball of fire and water encircling each other.

Not all four elements, but still more than one.

Korra's eyes grew wide, as well as everyone elses.

"Shouldn't I be the one bending for proof here?" Aang asked.

"Your... an avatar?" Korra asked in disbelief. "Shouldn't there only be one at a time?!"

"Yes." Ethoe confirmed. "Technically, there should only be one. I am not an Avatar, and nor is Aang anymore able to be one."

"What?!" Aang said. "Are you serious?! You give me a mustache, a lot of hair, and take away my bending?!"

Moka and Bolin looked to each other in disbelief. Aang was upset, and Korra was shocked.

Ethoe sighed, "Let me explain... We are from the spirit world. I am known as Ethoe, the maker. I am the maker of Avatars. You do not know me, as knowledge of me disappeared long ago."

"I... see." Korra said.

"Ok, this is over my head." Bolin admitted.

"More like, over our need to know. This is getting into Avatar stuff, bro." Moka took his brother by the shoulder and began to lead him out. "Korra, when your done, let us know."

"Stay." Ethoe said. "I already knew you two would have to help."

"Help? Help what?" Bolin asked. He fought against his brother and freed himself.

"It would be best if we talked in a more private place." Ehtoe said.

"We could go to our place," Korra suggested, "No one there right now."

Ethoe nodded.

As they all began to leave, Ethoe said, "I do not remember this Avatar having so many tattoos."

"Tattoos? I don't have any tattoos." Korra argued.

Bolin grinned like an idiot and casually slithered away.

"There are words on your face. Signs of your beliefs and thoughts. Isn't it 'hip' amongst your peers to label your 'soul' on your body in words and pictures?"

"What?" Korra looked in the mirror. There were many things written on her face, but in the middle of her forehead read, "I was here."

Popo coincidentally nudged Moka's pocket, revealing the pen. Moka fell when a rock hit him in the head a few seconds later.

* * *

They left and took the car to the port. From there they took the boat to the island. Upon landing, Aang took the time to stop and be sentimental.

Aang asked, "Where is Tenzen and the others?"

"They should be on vacation. Anniversary. The place is just me, Moka, Bolin, and Asami."

"Asami?"

"Um... Asami Sato."

"Hiroshi's girl?"

"Yes."

"Aaah..." Aang said. He smiled, "I remember him. Good man. Always a little"

"Yeah... no. He was part of the equalists."

"The Equalists!" Aang stopped. He looked down sadly. "I remember you told me of them, but... to think Hiroshi joined them."

"I'm sorry, Aang." Korra said.

To be honest, it was really odd for her to be apologizing to him. He was what? Nine years old? Between that and all the hair, it was impossible to picture him as the middle-aged man Korra knew from when she spoke to him in the Spirit World. She had to keep reminding herself who he was. He was also a lot more hyperactive than she remembered. Might come with youth and energy.

It was probably weirder for Moka and Bolin. They never had the privilege of meeting him spirit to spirit.

The one person she couldn't place, was Ethoe. He had connected with her and showed himself as a spirit. He was a spirit without form in reality, but he was... so blunt. He seemed devoid of all emotion.

Right now, Ethoe was watching Bolin make a joke. The joke was good, but Ethoe picked it apart and explained how it was illogical. He completely ruined the joke.

Korra leaned down and whispered, "Aang, is Ethoe always like this?"

Aang shrugged, "I've only known him a short time myself, but as far as I know he is. He is amongst the oldest of spirits."

Korra opened the door for them all and showed them to the third wing of the house. Mako and herself lived in the third wing after they were married. Bolin had a corner of it, and Asami lived in the first wing with the Tenzen's family.

Korra felt sorry for Asami. Asami couldn't handle being in her old home, because of her father. Nor could she handle living in the third wing with them. Not that she disliked them. She was over Mako. It was just... awkward.

Most of the servants and guards and White Lotus lived in the second wing between the two. The three wings met in a single room with a larger table.

Many of the servants and guards were gone, but Asami was around. Ethoe allowed Korra to explain his presence to her friend, and Asami took it in stride. She was mostly silent, and stayed out of the way. She was polite and understood it was not her place, but Ethoe still wished for her to be around, since her support for Korra in the future would be appreciated.

Ethoe took his place at the table, and motioned for them to do the same. Moka found it disrespectful that the boy acted like he owned the place. A short glance from Korra kept his lips sealed. Asami leaned against a corner and watched.

Aang did not sit, but said, "Um, Shadow Spirit sir?"

"It's... Ethoe..."

"Ethoe, may I please shave first? I can't take this!"

Ethoe nodded.

They waited a few minutes for Aang to shave his head and face. He still looked nothing like he used to, but he felt more comfortable.

Everyone took their place at the table. Moka chose to stand to the side, and Bolin pulled out some noodles to eat. Aang immediately dived into the noodles. Something about not having eaten in years will make you hungry. Ethoe declined the meal, and Korra helped herself to some.

They all sat in silence as they ate and watched Ethoe. He appeared always as though he is about to say something, but he never opened his mouth.

It wasn't until they all finished eating, that he began.

"I believe I must begin with the highlights... There was a time before the avatar cycles. A time of chaos. Brother fought brother, and there was no peace among men. The elements clashed and brought ruin. The continents would sink and rise, volcanoes appeared overnight and would be gone the next morning due to earthquakes. We brought this time to an end, and created a time of order. The world was killing itself, and needed to sleep in order to heal. As we tended to the world, man worshiped us or hated us. They would go to war with us, and fail in their ignorance, as they could not harm us without physical manifestations. In the end, they were very ignorant and did not understand us. In order to cure them of this ignorance, and further bring peace between the mortals and spirits, one of us became mortal. His name was Slavian Aeterna."

Ethoe paused a moment before continuing, "Slavian Aeterna was amongst the greatest of spirits. Our champion. His power and authority was unmatched, his wisdom marveled us, and his knowledge was great. He was by no means ignorant. Slavian Aeterna manifested himself as a man, and united the world into an era of peace."

Aang smiled at the idea of this.

Ethoe's face though, showed emotion for the first time. It was grave.

"This peace... would not last. Slavian slowly became... influenced. He was immortal. He rarely forgot. At the time, we did not know what constant exposure to a world of sin would do, but we learned our lesson from him. He took one step at a time. First it was love."

"Love is not wrong..." Aang argued. "It is a spiritual concept."

"Indeed." Ethoe agreed. "But in the mortal world, this comes with lust. Lust within marriage is not wrong, nor am I saying he was wrong in it. Only that it was the first step. You see, he was being influenced by the world. Love, death, love, death, love, death, being betrayed, being mocked by those you have devoted your life to. Slavian was immortal. He outlived every wife, and he buried all of his sons and daughters."

They all looked down sadly.

"Part of politics, human politics more so, is the constant idea of rebellion, assassination, betrayal, and other threats all coming from behind your back. Things such as this is not uncommon even in the Spirit World, but it is almost constant in the Mortal. One of the mistakes we made with Slavian, was we made him almost completely human. He sacrificed his knowledge of being a spirit for what he believed was the greater good."

Ethoe sighed and continued, "As a human... with almost perfect memory. It slowly tore at him. The constant checking behind yourself to be sure everyone will not rebel, burying everyone you love... In some ways, just the thought of living for an eternity in a sinful world... Slavian changed. He did not remember his past as a spirit, he did not remember his choice, and slowly came to believe we had placed him at the head of this world as a prison for him. He first hardened himself against the constant pain and troubles. Part of politics is the need for a strong stomach, as you humans would say. Then over time, he became cold... ruthless. He was our champion. Ten thousand years later, he was our most feared enemy. He made his war against the spirits. He blamed us for the worlds problems. the atrocities he made in the war will go unnamed except under the most crucial of needs."

Ethoe continued, "He wounded my mate, left me with no form, and slew more spirits than I care to recall; but we stopped him. We imprisoned him beneath the world in ice for an eternity. Him, his own champions, and everyone who followed him. The world worshiped him, for his power was great. We had no choice but to start the world over. With his imprisonment, we began the Avatar cycles as a form of replacement for him."

"This is why the Avatar's reincarnate... we are always here, but never remember." Korra murmured.

"Yes. We believe one of the biggest contributions to his lack of sanity was his immortality and near perfect memory. He saw us come and go, but he forever stayed in his position of power. It became a prison to him. A prison he tried to free himself of the only way he knew how, he lashes out at us."

There was a dreaded silence over them.

"Why tell us all of this?" Aang asked.

"I made him as a mortal. I made the Avatars after his imprisonment. I made the avatars with a mechanism, that would create a replacement when one dies. But there was a loophole I had not accounted for." Ethoe looked to Aang. "You, Avatar Aang, put yourself in a coma for a hundred years. This action has caused the avatar mechanism to search out for a replacement. In so doing, it attempted to override Slavian's imprisonment."

Aang's eyes grew wide. "I did what?..."

"Whoa hold it!" Korra said, "Don't go blaming him! He couldn't have known!"

"I am not blaming, I am stating fact."

Moka agreed with Korra, "Sounds to me like your pointing fingers."

"... I am not." Ethoe argued. "If I blame anyone, I blame myself. I failed to account for this."

Aang stood up sharply and stopped. His face was akin. "Why didn't your mechanism wake me?"

"You did it knowingly."

"Then why just replace me! You could have made Korra a hundred years early!" Aang turned to her, "No offense to the life you have in this time."

"None taken."

Ethoe said, "You were not dead, Avatar. It only works if you are dead."

"Then why do anything?! The mechanism didn't have to do anything!"

"You weren't alive either." Ethoe told him. "There is an account taken for when you are a coma, but only in a coma for a year at most. People do die of starvation in a coma, but you... You kept yourself perfectly preserved. You were not alive, Aang, but nor did you ever die. Mechanism's cannot think for themselves. They can only do what they are told. If you cannot fit into either direction, can you imagine how difficult it was for the mechanism to decide?"

"Sounds like the mechanism should have never decided to begin with." Asami mused.

Everyone turned to her. It was the first thing she had said the entire time.

Ethoe was amazed the mortal could follow. Asami continued, "If this mechanism could only do what it is told to do in situations, then you had to have told it to choose Slavian. Otherwise, it would have stayed locked in indecision, right?"

Ethoe was lost for words. He bowed his head and said, "The mortal is correct..." Asami nodded and leaned back against the wall. Ethoe continued, "It should have stayed in indecision until Aang returned. But... it didnt. I don't know how... but I have no one to blame but myself. I designed it."

Ethoe looked up to them and said, "Trust me when I say, I would never purposefully tell it to choose Slavian. But choose, it did. Luckily, it didn't finish. The imprisonment remains intact."

Aang sighed in relief.

"For the moment. There is a crack, one will we cannot stop from growing."

Bolin raised his hand.

There was nothing.

Still, there was nothing. Bolin began to wave his arm around in circles wildly.

Ethoe asked, "What is with the raising of hands?"

"I have a question, sir!"

"Then ask."

"Ok, this crack." Bolin made a line shape with his hand. "It is growing."

Moka facepalmed. Asami giggled. Korra hid back a smile.

"Yes." Ethoe said flatly. He appeared unaffected by the stupidity of the moment.

"Then does this mean the imprisonment will break if the crack grows too large?" He made a boom with his hands.

"Yes."

"mhm... I see. So, your timing is amazingly coincidental along with Aang's. This can only mean you are here for us to help you with this problem. Perhaps to kick his butt?"

Ethoe blinked in surprise. "You are amazingly perceptive for one so ignorant."

"Thank you!... I think."

Everyone besides Ethoe couldn't help laughing. Ethoe looked between them and asked, "What amuses you?"

* * *

"This leaves to question, what will be done?" Asami stated.

"Explain." Ethoe said.

By this time, everyone had begun to lounge in the living room on couches and hung out. Ethoe alone stayed rigid. Korra was petting her polar bear, and Moka was sleeping. Bolin and Aang had hit it off very well and were having fun doing some kind of card game that seemed to be more about yelling at each other than actually messing with cards.

Asami was laying on a couch. She crawled over a corner and looked to him. "Your the one who knows everything of Korra's enemy, and came all this way. You wouldn't go this far without a plan."

Ethoe nodded. Korra turned her head to pay attention, and Aang stopped playing cards.

Ethoe said, "I have requested of Yue and La, two fellow spirits, to transport from Mymphis Ryol a very special piece of cargo to here. A prisoner. His name is Nel'Andra Thosiline. He should arrive by tomorrow. His knowledge and understanding of Slavian Aeterna rivals my own, and his power will be crucial to my plans."

Korra asked, "What can you expect from a bad guy? Won't he just turn on us? I am sure we can handle anything between everyone in this room!"

Aang replied, "Give him a chance. I am sure this Nel'Andra diserves a second chance."

"We don't know anything about him." Korra understood the idea of giving people a second chance, but wasn't there a line to not cross at some point?

"If the spirits trust him, isnt that enough?"

Ethoe cut him off, "That is the problem, Aang. The spirits don't. They consider him almost as problematic as Slavian."

Asami questioned, "'They'? You don't agree?"

Ethoe again was startled by her perception. He sighed and looked out a window. No one saw his expression and assumed he wore none.

"Nel'Andra is... complicated." He said.

"That's fine, I will do what I can to make his second chance worth something! Second chances are kinda my thing." Aang had a big grin on his face.

Bolin said, "He can share my room, if he doesn't mind Popo, or if Popo doesn't mind him."

Ethoe frowned. "We definitely should discuss his accommodations... Avatar Korra, do you believe your host will mind my guest sleeping on the roof?"

Korra snorted and almost laughed, but saw Ethoe was serious. Or at least looked it. Dang it, she would need to figure out when he was serious and not.

"The roof?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yes."

It was a very weird request... Asami and Korra exchanged glances of "seriously?".

Ethoe said, "I told you, Nel'Andra is complicated. As long as the roof is open, he will sleep there."

"uh... of course!" Korra said, "but what if it rains? That is dangerous."

"He will be fine." Ethoe nodded, "Thank you, Avatar Korra."

"Not a problem." She chuckled nervously.

A criminal who sleeps on roofs, the Avatar Maker spirit in a 9 year old boy without an ounce of emotion or expression... OH and Aang is back from the dead in a different body.

Tenzin is going to freak!


	3. Chapter 3 - Breaking the first seal

They all retired to bed, and Korra practically passed out as soon as she hit the pillow. Mako climbed in more gently as to not disturb her. This was a useless gesture, since a rampaging bear couldn't wake her. They should know, they had one.

Mako considered the day, and how uneventful it had been. They had the arrival of a big spirit, revival of Aang, and news of some evil person who they needed Korra for, and were making plans to welcome the arrival of a criminal from a spirit prison. This would shake most people, and a year or so back, it would have made him frightened. If he was to here he would marry an Avatar, and be around events of spiritual consequence on multiple occassions... He would laugh in the man's face.

A normal person would have fled from these events and claimed they were too big for one's such as them.

Mako held Korra close and was amazed at himself. He wasn't affected or overcome by the magnitude of the situation in the least, nor were the others. When had they adapted? When had he crossed the line from being a normal Mako to being a Mako who dealt with the supernatural with grace?

Perhaps the answer or realization to be gained was not when, but that he simply had. They all had.

Aang took up room with Bolin for the night, after eating his heart out a second or third time. Ethoe ate as well, but with less gusto. His mind was filled, and he ate thoughtfully in silence. Both of their bodys were empty of sustenance when Ethoe gave them physical form, he had not thought of food. Or, if he had, he knew they would simply eat. Either way there was nothing in their stomach for the moment, nothing being digested. The human body is always digesting, always consuming. Their bodies required some time to catch up.

As mentioned, Aang took up a bed in Bolin's room. He slept hard, with a body that had never slept before. Ethoe was provided the same room, but did not take it. Instead Asami rose in the middle of the night to find Ethoe sitting in a chair in the living room. His eyes were glowing beneath the lids.

* * *

In the spirit world, Ethoe drifted inside of a cavern. The size of the cavern was great, capable of encompassing entire worlds and lands. Around him floated glowing symbols of languages. Languages known, languages forgotten, languages of worlds beyond the human world. All sentient life was difted with voice, with communication. It was a way to express themselves, to express the power and intelligence given to them by God. It was a power in the right hands.

Each symbol had meaning, had power, had function.

These symbols, words, and letters floated and drifted in an every moving chaos of innumerable meaning. Words of similar languages naturally joined, words with a dependent function in their own language joined with words which filled said dependency.

The combined power gave itself life, and the combined functions often produced... interesting results. An infinite number of potential variables. He watched the results with interest, and learned from new combinations.

It was chaos, controlled chaos.

As explosions went on around him, and new power and combinations were brought to life, all of his attention was on a single spot. Before him, a hollow circle existed. Within it, triangles, circles, and squares rotated. On the edge of the outermost ring were symbols. Hundreds of glowing symbols, of a language older than humans and older than the oldest living spirit. The language belonged to spirits who lived before Ethoe and the oldest spirits. They had gone on and died and gave themselves to God, what happened after that was anyones guess. The only one who had any idea what happened to them was Koh.

The language was complicated and eccentric. It sometimes seemed to contradict itself, yet further study showed this was natural. The contradiction made the symbols fight, and they would strengthen themselves in conflict. Other symbols did not conflict, but join together and strengthen themselves as a nation joins together for a common cause.

The strength of the language, of the symbols, strengthened constantly and pushed against the boundarys. Both inward and outward. Inward, the symbols linked directly with the cage of Slavian, with his power. The innermost section, being linked directly to Slavian, pushed against its boundaries. Slavian... he was unconscious, but his power alone was alive. It was desperate to be freed. It pushed out against the ancient language set in place by Ethoe.

The never ending strengthening of the symbols of this ancient language proved to the the only cage capable of containing Slavian.

Ethoe looked over each symbol, hundreds in number. The words of the human rang in his mind. The mechanism should not have chosen Slavian if it was not specifically told to, it should have stayed in indecision. He considered every combination in two's, and three's, and fourth's. He considered the path and clashing of the symbols hundreds of steps down the road, but he saw no mention of Slavian, no reference to him.

Ethoe looked to the line between the language containing Slavian, and Slavian himself. The line stood in the middle of the conflict, but it was kept alive as a sub-function of the language. It had grown thinner and weaker in its time, and with recent occurrence, it was cracked, causing the symbols to come closer to Slavian. While they contained him, direct contact would be chaotic.

It had been much time since Ethoe mended the mechanism. He reached out into the sea of symbols and picked one. It was a simple word, while the word was not human related, it meant love none of the less. Love mended, love healed, and it strengthened. More than that, love was selfless. He took the symbol, and put it into the line. It sacrificed itself, but the line recovered. It expanded and grew thick again.

but no matter how much love mended, the crack remained. The crack was not hindered, it was not slowed. Ethoe had repaired one problem, but the main one continued to haunt him.

There was nothing he could find where the mechanism would choose to hurt itself, would choose to free Slavian. The language holding him had nothing where it truly destroyed itself or would weaken.

Ethoe looked into the human world and found it was now daytime. He had spent the night in his chamber. He sighed and pulled himself away from the mechanic.

He knew what he needed to do, but first he needed to find the flaw. The loophole in his design which allowed Aang to create the crack.

With the rising of the sun in the human world, came the need for his attention. Ethoe looked at the mechanism and memorized it. While he may be focused on the human world, doesn't mean he can't ponder this puzzle in the back of his mind.

* * *

Ethoe returned to his body and opened his eyes to find the island had become quite... lively. There was a great commotion outside.

Ethoe entered the kitchen to find Asami attempting to eat breakfast in peace. She nodded to him as he walked by. Mako was standing by the door, observing, and minding his own business.

A vessel had entered port. Ethoe made his way down the steps and towards the crowd at its ramp.

Ethoe found Aang, Korra, and a number of white lotus agents were talking. Among the newcomers were soldiers of some new nation or alliance the humans had come up with, a few children, and a wild man. They were friendlies. Ethoe recognized the children as Aang's grandchildren, and the wild man as one of his sons, Bumi.

Bumi, Ethoe saw, did not appear to be as self-imposing and proud as other human generals tend to be. He had tackled Korra and anyone else he recognized in an leaping hug called a 'glomp'. A weird name for humans to invent, but seeing Bumi made Ethoe believe it was a rather fitting title.

The grandchildren were simply kids. Ethoe loved kids. They were fascinating creatures to watch. Driven by almost no morals, no logic, and no intelligence, they still managed to maintain innocence within their actions.

Ethoe stood to the side and watched the little reunion. Aang caught eyes with Ethoe and became downcast. He needed to refrain from revealing himself. Ethoe saw his pain, and knew it was necessary for the time being.

He walked up to Korra and asked, "What is this?"

"Hm?" Korra looked down. "Oh! Bumi was babysitting the kids while Tenzin and Pema are off together."

Ethoe nodded. "Will they be staying?"

"For a few days," Korra realized this might be a mistake and apologized. "Will that be bad?"

"It does complicate things for me. I must admit." Ethoe eyed them. He bore them no dislike, but adding more variables to an equation unnecessarily only made his plans that more difficult to ascertain. "But... As long as secret and privacy of my mission remains intact, I do not see the harm in it."

"That is good. Aang is loving this."

Aang was wrestling his kids, except one girl who had her head in a book and refused to roughhouse. Bumi decided to join in, gently, and the youngest boy started gnawing on his skull.

Most of the staff and soldiers and 'muscle' ushered them away so they might unload the ship. Bumi left them to assist, and Mako and Bolin assisted as well. Ethoe stood to the side with Korra and Aang. Asami rounded up the kids and took them inside to a place where they wouldn't be in the way.

Many of the contents being unloaded were simple. Food, general supplies for around the house, a few belongings of the children and Bumi, then belongings of any of his personal guard who would be staying as well. The island was becoming quite populated.

Aang asked, "What is the next step, Ethoe spirit?"

"It is just Ethoe..."

"Yes, what is the next step? You and I came here, you explained some things to us. What is next?"

"We are waiting for Nel'Andra to arrive from Mymphis Ryol. Yue told me he should arrive within a few hours. Once we have him, we begin training. I am considering giving you back your bending Aang." Ethoe answered.

"Really?" Korra started. "He will be an avatar again?"

"Yes and no. He will bend like one, but won't reincarnate. He already has, no need to make two Avatar cycles at once." They nodded their understanding. Ethoe continued, "But this is serious, neither you nor Korra are strong enough. You will have to train hard."

The next object being unloaded was a glass coffin. Ethoe saw a figure laying within.

"I believe this is him." Ethoe said. He started off into a run toward them, and the avatars followed.

The one carrying the coffin was Bumi and another two people. It took great strain on them, the coffin was heavy.

"Where did you find this?!" Ethoe asked. He became tense, not sure what was happening. He had expected the coffin to drift to the shore by itself, not be delivered by a mortal. This was a variable he wasn't sure how to account for, yet.

"We found this bobbin' in the ocean only a few klicks out." Bumi answered. "Now step aside, kid. I don't want to drop this on ya'."

So they had found it in the middle of its passage... That was acceptable.

Ethoe sighed in relief and said, "Leave it with me."

Bumi laughed, "Yeah, uh... no. Don' think so. It's for Tenzen. Somethin' this weird goes into the hands of someone who handles 'weirdness'."

They continued to carry it into the house.

Ethoe looked hard at Korra, and she got the idea. She called out, "Commander Bumi, please listen to him. It belongs to him."

"The kid?" Bumi asked in disbelief. "A kid has a glass coffin with a guy in it?"

Korra nodded. Bumi looked between her and the kid, and saw they were both serious. He shrugged, "Ok. Drop it boys, gently."

They lowered it to the ground and Ethoe rushed to it. Inside was a young man, about twenty three. His clothing was largely white wool rags. The rags were dirty and full of holes and made him look like a poor man. The shirt was short sleeved, revealing an arm covered in scars. His face had a cloth around the eyes and what was seen was also covered in scars. The scars made him look older than Bumi, and as though he had been cut to pieces.

Bumi stepped aside and asked, "I take it you know this guy?"

"Yes, please step aside." Ethoe waved him away and focused his attention on the container.

Bumi huffed and picked Ethoe up by the collar. "Kid, have your parents taught you manne-"

He stopped. Ethoe's palm was on his forehead.

Bumi's eyes became unfocused. He slowly lowered Ethoe, turned around, and marched off in silence.

Aang ran to the door and watched his son leave. "What did you do?" He asked Ethoe.

"I put a mechanism in him to lower me and walk away. It should expire in a few minutes. He will awaken and believe he has been daydreaming."

Bumi walked into a wall. Then walked into the wall. Then walked into the wall again. He kept walking into the same wall. The grandchildren found it the funniest thing on earth, and the soldiers stopped as well to laugh.

Korra struggled to stifle a smile. "I think a few minutes may be a bit long."

Aang couldn't decide whether to be laughing or angry that this was being done to his second child. Although, Bumi wouldn't mind this in the end.

Ethoe lowered himself to the coffin and ran his hand over it. It was lightly cracked, as he expected. The crack in Slavian's containment had spread to the others caged much the same way. Their mechanism's were linked to his for their longevity, but not their strength. The individuals were much weaker and required less power to keep them down.

Conclusion? Slavian's champions were going to break free far sooner than him.

Ethoe wasn't sure how soon. It could be a few hours or a few years. He would need to check the sub-mechanism's and see how large the crack in them were. he would then need to devise replacement sub-mechanisms to contain them again. The replacements would only be temporary, since they would continue being linked to a flawed primary mechanism. They wouldn't last longer than few years, but it would be enough time to repair the primary mechanism. Hopefully.

Ethoe shook his head and returned to the present. He needed to do this one step at a time. First priority was Nel'Andra at the moment.

Ethoe said, "Avatar Korra, Avatar Aang. Please watch over the coffin, I am going to begin freeing him."

The avatars nodded.

Ethoe sat in a cross-legged position and closed his eyes.

* * *

Ethoe drifted in his chamber amongst his mechanisms. He reached out and brought to himself a number of them. They were small, and mirrored the much larger mechanism containing Slavian.

He analyzed them, and looked to their hosts.

One contained Kure'Gane, The Alchemist. Another, Caius, The Vamp'Ire. Another, Boum, The Immobile. Followed by Izthark, The Hunter, Emmanuel, The Deathsworn, Barjol, The Messenger, Koj'Ineh, The Pain Artist, Eria, The Empress, Karthas, The Arbiter, Nel'Al Carin, The Humming Swordsman, and finally Nel'Andra Thosiline, The Blood Pheonix.  
Plus the three joint members of The Tribunal.

In total, fourteen. The members of the special order made by Slavian Aeterna. The Council of Dozen. (The Tribunal represented one amongst the Council despite having three members.)

Ethoe looked over them one by one, and looked over their progress. Kure'Ganes, was lightly cracked, his would take a few years. Caius, heavily cracked, perhaps a week at most. Boum, a matter of days. Izthark, same as Boum. Emmanual, two weeks. Barjol, a few years. Koj'Ineh, one year. Eria, good as new. Karthas, a month. Nel'Al Carin, a year. The Tribunal, several years.

In general, a highly varied group. Some of them would not need replacing, others would need immediate attention. The most peculiar thing that stuck out to him though, was Eria. She had great power, and her link to Slavian was strong. Not only was her link within the mechanism, but within marriage and soul and with great bonds. She was the final wife to Slavian, and the one to be given physical immortality by him. Her containment should have had the largest crack.

Ethoe fathomed a quick mechanism, one to carry a message to Koh, Yue, and the ape monk spirit. Ethoe said, "Tell them, young one, to go to Eria and check on her directly. Her mechanism shouldn't be this strong... something is very wrong."

Ethoe complete the mechanism, and added the symbol 'Haste' to it. The mechanism immediately sped off.

Ethoe, under normal circumstances wasn't spooked, but everything about what he saw in Eria's sub-mechanism was wrong. It was holding too well. He wasn't sure why or how, and the nearly innumerably implications of potential why's and how's haunted him. If there was nothing amiss, and this was a great blessing of luck, then Ethoe could accept that. There was only one problem.

Ethoe did not believe in luck.

He ushered the sub-mechanism's away, back into the fold, and placed his hand on the one holding Nel'Andra.

He broke the outer most ring, freeing the symbols. With nothing outside of the inner ring, the power successfully shattered its containment.

Something happened then, Ethoe did not expect. A high pitched whistle sound appeared. He recognized it as an alert. Something was happening with Slavian's mechanism.

He immediately pulled it to himself to find what was wrong.

Ethoe looked over Slavian's containement and had the shock of his life. It had been damaged. The timing was too coincidental, freeing Nel'Andra had damaged the primary mechanism.

He had not taken the time to consider a possibility such as this.

Scolding himself, Ethoe set to work to maintain it. If he didn't prevent a chain reaction within the symbols, it could be a very short ride for all of them.

* * *

For the longest time, all Nel'Andra had known was darkness. His life was filled with darkness, both literally and figuratively. At some point he had fallen into a cold sleep in the midst of a battle, and he knew no more.

Until he hit the ground.

Nel'Andra woke suddenly, but did not show it. He kept himself still and heard his heart rate was still low. His eyes were beneath the cloth, so no one saw him open his eyes. His eyes ached, like they were being stabbed.

Nel didn't know where he was, and tried to recall. He felt as though he had slept a very long time.

What was the last thing he remembered?

Oh, yes... Having his life beaten out of him by Slavian and being stabbed in the back by a girl who had supposedly loved him.

His blood boiled, but he told his heart to not increase in pace. Last thing he needed was Slavian hearing it. He realized he had fallen unconcious under the blows. He must be in Slavian's hold. Question was, where?

Nel did not move at all, but brought his attention to his surroundings. He smelled salty air, felt grass beneath him, and heard the heartbeats of many people around him. They walked to and fro, in an almost military fashion. There were many around him in a reasonably small area. Nearby, he heard the sound of a vessel hitting the ground as the tide shifted. In the distance were sounds he did not recognize, almost like the screeching of geese but much more high pitched. They sounded almost metallic.

Ok... so he was in a military facility on an island near the coast. Probably a private prison or something along those lines. No... not a prison. He did not hear the heartbeats of guards in the correct arrangement. Prison guards tend to be surrounding prisoners, not joined in one place.

North Cynn? An island of Ire?

His friends would have come to his aid if he were near North Cynn, that was out of the question. Ire'Ne? Ire'Ne wasn't this close to the coast, and it was miles large. Ire'Ne was a large highly populated port.

Ok... so was it Ire'Ne in the distance?

Honestly, Nel couldn't tell. It didn't change anything for him though. He knew what he needed to do.

1. Claim vengeance on Slavian.

2. Beat the living hell out of Sorla for stabbing him.

3. Flee.

Around Nel were three heartbeats. Either all Ire-Blood or Ne-Blood. They looked much the same in how their blood flowed. One of them had breasts. A girl.

Sorla...

Nel boiled his blood purposefully, and his body became dark. Nel jumped up as fast as he could, punched the girl in the face before she had time to blink, and ran for the coast.

If he could get away from Slavian, he could regroup with the others and recuperate.

Around him, the enviroment was rocky and difficult. He fell down some stairs and pushed people aside. The soldiers put up little resistance to restrain him.

Nel smirked. Slavian would not be pleased with them...

As he ran, he heard voices all around him. The words did not make sense, and he didn't care. He didn't understand Ne anyway. He knew Ire, and since they weren't speaking it, they must have been Ne.

So they were off the coast of Ne, that worked.

Hearing the waves nearby, Nel leaped.

He hit sand. He felt water touch his hand, and he scowled to himself. He crawled forward hurriedly into the water and began to swim in the direction of the sounds.

It sounded like there was some kind of town nearby. He would need to be careful. The town probably served Slavian. He would have to steal food, find a guide willing to help him, and steal a horse.

* * *

Ethoe sighed to himself and relaxed. He had managed to contain the problem. The crack in Slavian's cage had grown larger, but not too much.

He would need to remember, messing with the sub-mechanism's would affect the primary.

* * *

So here we go, the final character being added to the team. First though, there is some confusion in him. He still thinks he is in the past. Tell me what ya think. ;)

Fyi: If you read anything that sounds like a reference to something that doesn't make sense, dont worry. It probably is. The characters that are not from Avatar are actually from my novel. A lot of reference is made to an ancient time, war, and time period with a story of its own. This I feel makes it feel more alive. There is some difference, such as the fact that Nel'Andra isn't technically a member of the Council of Dozen in my novel, but he is an unoffical one.

I am sure you guys don't care about a technicality like that ;)

Ne- A ancient continent.

Ire- A ancient collection of islands.

North Cynn- An ancient island.

Ire-Blood and Ne-Blood - In the ancient days, 'race' was labled as 'blood'. Such as Africa-Blood, Asia-Blood, and so on. Nel'Andra will refer to races in this way, since its part of the culture he lived in.

Ire'Ne - An island sitting on the border of Ire and Ne.

Council of Dozen - An organization formed by The Aeterna to act as his right-hand. They carry his authority, his will, and act to maintain his Empire under him. They are a collection of generals, heros, kings, geniuses, and unfortunately, villains. All of them are immortal. The people mentioned by Ethoe are members of the Council of Dozen.


	4. Chapter 4 - To Catch a Predator Part 1

Thank you for the comments and reviews ;)

1. I am now made aware I have been misspelling Mako's name as Moka. Honest mistake. I believe I have gone back and fixed it.

2. I want everyone to be aware that the OC characters will make a lot of references to a time that the readers will not understand or know. If you feel lost when you hear names or references, just relax, let yourself to be lost and don't try to memorize anything that isn't explained. Details will be given a bit at the beginning or end of the chapters so you don't go "What is Ne?" too much.

This ignorance is simply real. There is a LOT (as in ten-thousand years) of backstory to these characters, so I can't explain everything. They are real breathing characters to me with a great deal of life in them, and I can't force them to deny their past and forget and move on easily.

But at the same time, any questions you have, I will strive to answer. Like who is Ethoe's mate? Why did Nel'Andra attack the first people he saw?

3. I am aware I write differently from most people. I simply think differently. Therefore sentences that most people wouldn't be able to read, I can read just fine. I don't see problems because I have no difficulty in understanding what I write.

So if anyone has trouble reading something or understanding anything because of my grammar or sentence structure, please let me know. I will then know there is a problem and will go back to work on it.

4. References:

Empire - In the Ancient times, Slavian Aeterna lead the Aeterna Empire. It was simply called Empire at times. The population was almost entirely Ire-Blood and Ne-Blood.

Iranian Guild - An organization of moblords who controlled the hundreds of islands of Ire. Their allegiances shifted with the economy, but were considered mostly allys to the Empire. They were a mix of all Bloods due to their economic centralization, but mostly Ire-Blood.

Soran Alliance - A powerful nation controlling the continent of Soran. A nation of inventors, thinkers, philosophers, and disciples of the Ancestors. (they worshipped their Ancestors). They lived underground and were the only nation to keep the Empire in check. Made up almost entirely by Soran-Blood and Cynn-Blood.

Erl-Blood - People whose blood and race is of the Erl Kingdoms. A weak divided rival to the Empire.

Flotilla - A marvel of the Iranian Guild. Giant boats designed to be man-made islands. Acted as mobile cities.

Basic - The language of the Empire. The first and primary language of the entire world in the ancient days, even to the Empire's rivals.

Gommu - The Hobo from Legend of Korra. I liked him, and I am bringing him back as a nice side character to this. ;)

Anyway, lets begin. :)

* * *

Chapter 4 - To Catch a Predator

* * *

The sound of thunder radiated from just outside the building. Mako and Bolin looked to each other, dropped the boxes they were carrying, and rushed out. Soldiers looked about in wonder. There were no dark clouds out, no reason for lightning. Was it a fire bender?

It would not be unusual for fire benders to practice lightning, but it was dangerous so close to people. Someone might be hurt.

What they found was something else entirely.

Korra was laying on the ground, unconscious. In the distance they could see a man running away, and Aang was running after him.

Mako rushed to Korra's side. A White Lotus agent crouched over Korra and checked her pulse. Mako asked, "What happened?"

The agent said worriedly, "She is alive, but is hurt badly. We have to move her to a place to rest." The agent then began to call comrades over, and they hauled her up gently.

"What. Happened." Mako demanded.

"The man from the coffin... He was laying on the ground sleeping, and the next moment he was up and hit her in the face. A single blow sent her flying several feet and made her faint. I am sorry, he was too fast for anyone to notice, including her."

Mako turned to where the stranger had been seen fleeing and ran in the general direction. He stood on a stone and saw the man crawl into the water and begin to swim toward Republic City.

He looked back, Korra was injured. In front of him was the man who hurt her, but she needed him. Mako glared into Bolin's eyes, and Bolin got the message. Bolin nodded, "I got him, bro. You just watch her."

Bolin ran into the house, and Mako took his place by Korra's side.

Bolin rushed to Asami. She was drinking tea at the table. He said hurriedly, "Hey! Asami! I need a lift! Korra got one-hit-KO'd!"

Asami blinked in surprise, "She's dead?!"

"No, Ethoe's little friend knocked her out in one blow. He is fleeing to the city."

Asami jumped up and grabbed her coat. "Let's take my boat."

* * *

Ethoe opened his eyes and saw everybody was gone. Nel'andra was gone, Korra was gone, Aang was gone.

Asami and Bolin were also missing.

He found Mako sitting by his bed, with Korra in it. Bumi was standing by helping around the house, mostly watching the kids. He tried to get Ethoe to leave them alone and come with him, but Ethoe ignored him.

A giant bruise covered the side of Korra's face. Her jaw was broken.

It didn't take too much thinking to know what happened... As for why, Ethoe couldn't place it. It wasn't like Nel'Andra to attack random people without being attacked first, and it wasn't like Aang and Korra to instigate a fight for no reason.

Ethoe walked outside and sighed to himself. Every mortal he had selected to aid him were running around like chickens and complicating things for him. He needed to stomp this and get them on track, immediately.

Ethoe found a place to be alone, and drew two words out with his power. "Space" and "Time". He slapped them together. There was a brief cracking sound and he disappeared out of thin air.

* * *

Nel'Andra officially did not know where he was anymore.

Proximity to soldiers of Ire and Ne made him believe he was under control of the Empire, and the water made it sound as though he was being held within the Iranian Guild. Then he climbed onto land, felt the texture of the buildings on his hands, and became convinced he was on Soran soil. The buildings felt remarkably like Soran design. But he felt the sun on his neck... The Soran never built above ground. The population felt entirely like Ire-Blood and Ne-Blood, not a single Soran-Blood.

Had the Soran ever built a city above ground? Had Slavian made war with them and taken it? Had the Guild built a city using Soran architecture?

The final question sounded most likely to him. He wouldn't past the guild to learn and use advantages, esspecially if profit came from it.

Nel stopped and listened. Nearby, he heard the heartbeats of hundreds of people, thousands. He was no longer on the outskirts it seemed. He listened closely.

First thing he noticed was how the streams of people walked in set paths. Between these paths he heard the sound of a continuous stampede, of large animals running around. The animals sounded large, fast, and made high pitched screeches often, like the sound of a duck. They were some freaky ducks.

Nel moved into the sea of people and followed along. He was blind to anything without a heartbeat, but he had learned long ago that by walking in a sea of people, he would be able to easily go where ever. It was better than walking into walls.

He brushed by many as he walked, and he observed their clothing. The clothing felt soft, finely woven. They did not seem to flow, but hug their owners tightly. He also did not smell people around him. Usually he could smell people a mile away... but here?

The only times he didn't smell someone easily was when they bathed regularly. He had only known Erl-Blood's to have such strong need for hygiene.

He did not feel any of them were Erl-Bloods, they were all definitely of Ire or Ne. Yet they seemed to bathe regularly.

Fine clothing, islands, Ire-Bloods, bathing, strong architecture of something similar to stone, hustle and bustle of people, Slavian's troops nearby. He was definitely inside the Iranian Guild, probably one of the core islands or a Flotilla. No, not a flotilla. Flotilla's had wooden flooring everywhere. There was sand, dirt, and stone beneath Nel's feet. He was on one of the core islands.

The only question was, which? What better way to find out, then ask directly.

Nel'Andra took the attention of a person, picked at random, and asked, "Where am I? Which island of Ire is this?"

The person said nothing, but the expression he wore was confusion.

Nel'Andra tried again. He spoke slowly and clearly. "Where. Am. I?"

"Uh... jeh gyalorin hfey?" (uh... What are you saying?)

"What? Is that Ne? Am I not speaking Basic?..." Nel said to himself, "No, I am definitely speaking in Basic."

Again to the stranger, Nel asked, "Where in Ire am I?"

"Jfdsuhfg uhasfl ftdsabl fidsj uyyt." (I think you have the wrong person.)

The stranger turned and walked away, leaving Nel very much pissed. Why was the imbecile speaking in a foreign language and not Basic! Everyone knows Basic! Nel was just being insulted... that's all there was to it. The man clearly knew what Nel was saying, and chose to spit in his face.

That, or the man didn't understand Basic. Leading to the man being an ignorant dumb man with no skill in economics or negotiation.

Nel pushed his anger down and tried again, this time with a woman.

"Do you understand Basic?" He asked her.

She looked at him dumbly.

"Basic?" He tried, "You understand?"

Nothing changed, she slowly walked away.

Infuriated, Nel chose to leave this stream of people and enter the one nearby. He turned to his left and walked. His feet fell a foot, as though he had walked down a step, and he felt the ground was different. He put his hand to it, and found the stone burned slightly and was covered in tiny rocks while at the same time the ground was amazingly smooth. It was a weird combination to feel. He felt metal to his right and left, as though he was inside of a small alley. (Cars on either side of him.)

Hearing the heartbeats of people before him, he walked toward them and called out, "Any of you speak Basi-"

Something collided with Nel. The impact caught him off guard and he fell to the ground.

Whatever it was that had hit him, it made sounds like an animal. It screeched like a bird, had muffled shouts within it, and had armor around it. War horse? Or something similar? Something with an exoskeleton?

Regardless, the thing that scared Nel was that he didn't hear the heartbeat of it. He heard the life of all things in their chests, so he was very much cut off guard.

Nel growled and raised himself up. A second beast collided with him, and he was knocked to the side against what felt like a giant shield. The shield dented.

Nel jumped to his feet ready to fight. This beast was elusive. It knew how to hide its heart, and it took advantage of his blindness. He didn't know if the beast was an assassin meant for him, an experiment of some kind, or a species he had never heard of before, but he didn't bother thinking too much.

Whatever it was, it was trying to kill him. It hurt a lot, like being body slammed by an anvil.

Nel heard a door slam nearby. Someone said, "fu! iuhfdsal uyfaly jfyalui!" (Hey! You wrecked my car!)

Nel growled to himself and said, "Step back! Whatever it is, it is here for me!"

Nel stepped forward slowly. He could hear the beast all around him, but he couldn't pinpoint its position. One moment it was behind him, in front of him, to his left or right. It was fast, it was everywhere.

"jiu?! fdh lopeh fdahyzy?!" (What?! Are you crazy!)

Nel ignored him and kept his focus on his surroundings. The beast was evading him closely, moving in and out rapidly. He needed to ignore the faints and wait for the contact. It also was beginning to feel like he was inside a pack of these things, not just being attacked by one. They were going by him with such speed, that the air was blowing in his long hair.

Nel breathed in and out slowly, and focused.

A loud screech erupted a short distance away, and whatever it was, it was large and coming for him. It must have been the mother of the beasts.

"Got you." Nel smiled.

He punched the beast as it came to him. He shattered its exoskeleton armored face and dug his heels in. The mother beast's momentum carried them both a fair distance through the ground as it fell.

Nel pulled his fist out of it's face and stepped out of the cracks his feet had made in the stone. The exoskeleton had been much harder than he expected, but his knuckles were fine. He popped his knuckles and danced a bit in the path. He could feel his muscles loosen and his sense for battle returning since he had been captured by Slavian.

Nel smirked and waved for the beasts around him to come. He was ready.

* * *

Asami parked the boat by the port and roped them in. She turned to Bolin and Aang and said, "Lets go. My car should be in the garage."

Bolin nodded and picked up Aang.

Aang was wrapped in a towel. He was soaking wet, cold to the bone, and shaking furiously. He was beginning to suffer from hypothermia.

(Flashback)

"Asami hold on!" Bolin yelled suddenly.

Asami flinched and stomped on the breaks. The boat came to a halt and Bolin jumped to the side of the boat. The boat shook side to side under the sudden shift and Asami braced herself.

The boat shook again as Bolin jumped out.

She looked to where he was going and saw a boy drifting in the water nearby. Bolin grabbed him and hauled him back to the boat. Asami pulled him out of the water and Bolin climbed in.

They dropped their cargo and turned him over to see his face.

Bolin blurted out, "Aang! What kind of water bender almost drowns?!"

"One without bending." Asami reminded him. She checked his breathing. He was breathing. His pulse was weak though, and his breathing shallow. Bolin noticed something was wrong as well and stepped aside. Aang was shaking badly and his lips were blue.

Asami checked his eyes. He was going into a state of shock.

"Bolin, strip him."

"What?!" He jumped up and got defensive. "Are you mad!"

Asasmi narrowed his eyes at Bolin. "He is going into hypothermia. Strip him, dry him, and then get him in a huge bear hug. He needs your warmth."

"Ah." Bolin understood. He began to strip Aang and wrapped him in his own coat. "One bear hug from the big guy coming right up, hold the clothes."

It was a while before Aang awoke.

Turns out he had forgotten he didn't have bending and had jumped into the ocean after Nel'Andra.

(end flashback)

They climbed out and Asami pulled out her cellphone. She speed dialed her page.

Aang asked, "H-H-How ar-are we going to f-f-f-fi-find him?"

Bolin shrugged. They had lost some time, and didn't see him in the water. Asami motioned for them to sit. She began to pace in thought.

Asami's page, Mr. Bimbo, picked up. He asked, "Yes Maam?"

"Yes, Mr. Bimbo. How aware are you of the occurances around Republic City?"

"Not very, why?"

"I need you to become aware. If you hear news of a stranger becoming violent or speaks a foreign language and is blind, let me know."

"Are you expecting one, Mrs. Sato?"

"Yes."

"Very well. I will keep my ears out."

Asami hung up and called the police. Someone picked up, and Asami asked to be redirected to Lin Beifong.

Aang's ears perked up at hearing Beifong's name.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Beifong was busy. So Asami asked for her to call back when she has a few minutes.

Then Asami called a third number.

A man picked up. "'ello! Who might this be?"

"Asami Sato, Mr. Gommu."

Bolin's eyes grew wide. "The wise old hobo?" He asked

Asami waved him off. She was busy.

"Ah! Yes! Mrs. Sato. How might you be doing? Wonderful morning it is!" Gommu said energetically.

"Yes it is, unfortunately there is something ruining our morning."

"Aw... Pity. What might that be?"

"A certain man hit the Avatar and fled into Republic City."

Gommu whistled. "This guy aims high, I'll give him that. You think he fled into the lower city?"

Asami shrugged, "I don't know. I need you to keep an eye and ear out for him. Right now he is priority one. He is blind, white-haired, strong and naturally violent from what I can see. He probably speaks a foreign language and doesn't understand ours; and most likely he is confused. He is a foreigner who has been asleep for a while."

"Gotcha! But tracking a violent person will be difficult right now."

"Why is that?"

"Turf war I'm afraid. The former gang regime was shattered by Amon and Amon's rebellion is broken. The former players down here are now split into small factions trying to hold onto their past glory days, and some of the equalists are still active. Amon may have been a no good fake, but his message still means something to these people. They have appointed a new leader named uh... Bah, I forget, Lypose is what I'm thinking, but a number of new gangs have cropped up as well to take advantage of the chaos. The Divine Oblivion, Little Boy Marshals, Eternal Hand, and others not worth mentioning. The strongest ones are definitely the Divine Oblivion and Eternal Hand, they are growing rapidly and forcing all of the others into submission. Very aggressive gangs, very deadly. The lower city is in chaos until a balance of power is made and order restored, such as it is."

"Have they entered your area?"

"Nah! Me and my friends are good. Several of the lesser gangs consider us to be good folks and are protecting us together. Right now we are covered. Still, won't hurt to pick a new bush."

Asami rolled her eyes. She was a humble person, she didn't need money necessarily, but she couldn't be put so low as to imagine living in... a bush.

"Alright, do what you can Mr. Gommu. His name is Nel'Andra Thosiline. Call me back if you get anything."

"You got it!" Gommu responded enthusiastically. He slammed the phone onto the hook.

Asami flinched and pulled the cell away. Mr. Gommu didnt need to slam down that hard...

Bolin put Aang down on a bench next to him. He had recovered a bit. He was still freezing, but he was no longer shaking. He stood up on a bench.

She shrugged. "Just using contacts. Helps to be the new co-president of the largest company in Republic City."

"Co?" Aang asked. "You aren't the heir?"

"Oh I am." Asami corrected, "Most of the managers needed replacing since Amon's downfall and me taking the company, but I found a few I can trust who know more about how to make it work. I mostly receive highlights and work on coming up with new inventions."

Bolin whispered, "Got her own basement too. Noisy as hell."

"Hey, I'm quiet." Asami chuckled.

"Pft, yeah! Explosiosn are totally qui-"

Asami's finger was in his face. "You swore never to reveal that."

Bolin put his hands up defensively, "Aang isn't part of 'them'. He is part of 'us'! Right Aang?"

Aang quickly said defensively, "I would rather not be in the middle."

"Good." Asami walked off.

Aang whispered, "What happened?"

Bolin checked to see if Asami was close, and whispered, "She was doing something in the pipes leading to my room. An accident caused my toilet to... explode."

"Where were you?"

"On it. Don't tell anyone."


	5. Chapter 5 - To Catch a Predator Part 2

Ethoe appeared ontop of a building in Republic City. His dark eyes looked down into the city and looked for anyone with white hair.

Nothing.

He wrote in the air and produced a number of symbols. As per their design, the symbols flew out into the city. He needed to find his old friend.

Nel'Andra was a million years ahead of his time, in a foreign land, and was awakening from a very hostile memory. This complicated things for him... He didn't like complications.

* * *

"So..." Bolin began. "Whats the plan?"

He had expected a number of places to be right now. At the police station, the town hall, by his daughter-in-laws side, perhaps being out on the streets looking for the bastard?

Instead, they were in a clothes store. Aang had only one set of clothes, and they were soaking wet. Naturally that was a concern, but why were they in a clothing store?!

Asami pulled out something in the nine-year old department and looked at it. Aang, wrapped in a towl, shook his head. She put it back and looked more.

"We are shopping." Asami said casually.

"Right, there is a million year old living Avatar-punching mummy running around, and we are in the T-shirt department."

"Exactly." She pulled out another shirt. It was a simple T-shirt, but had the emblem of the air nomads on it's front. Aang's eyes lit up in delight.

"I don't see how this helps... you know. The hunt?"

Asami found some pants and a jacket. The jacket was jet blue with white lines going across it reminiscent of a gust of wind. The top at the shoulders and the hoodie were white like a cloud, but Aang didn't want to cover his head. This was naturally his choice. He took them and walked off. He hurried because he was still in a towel.

Asami turned to Bolin and said, "Bolin, listen. How big is Republic City?"

"Big."

"How many of us are there?"

"Three."

"How many districts of Republic City are there and how high is the population?"

"Uh... I don't know." Bolin was beginning to feel the idea of finding Nel'Andra would be impossible when he considered how large of a place they were looking for.

"To be specific, there is the Rich District, Old Downtown District, Port District, seventeen suburbs and growing, a few market areas, and a massive labrynth of tunnels called the Lower City beneath all of that. Our population is a few hundred thousand, but there are easily many times that currently here in tourists and people whose business requires them to be here for a short time or illegal immigrants. This City is, in many ways, the center of the world. We are looking for one person."

"Ok, I'll admit it." Bolin scratched his head. "It's probably not the easiest thing we could be doing right now..."

"Of course, I am not saying 'Do not look for him', but rather do not waste our time doing it ourselves. I called people remember?"

Asami's plan was clicking in his head. "You called people who would be in the 'know'!"

"Yes, and my vice president. Nice thing about being President is that I don't have to do monumental tasks alone, and can pour my attention into other things."

"Like shopping for clothes for a revived Avatar."

Asami smiled. "Exactly."

Aang walked out. He looked very uncomfortable in casual clothes, but he looked pretty good. It looked... him. The jacket had a tail end that came down to his heels and flowed in the wind.

"Its really scratchy." Aang commented. He scratched his back.

Asami reached in and peeled the tag off the back of his shirt.

"Aah. That's better. Thank you."

Asami smiled down to him and said, "That's good. Lets get this payed for now."

"I don't have any money..." Aang said sadly.

"Not a problem, I do."

"Hey!" Bolin said, "You never buy me any clothes..."

"Your not a nine year old boy with nothing to..."

Bolin's eyes were really big. Like puppy eyes.

"Go ahead..." Asami submitted.

Bolin shot off.

* * *

Lin Beifong stood at the head of the air cruiser balloon and looked down on the scene below her.

Just an hour ago she had been knee deep in cultists, rebels, and gang. Scum basically. She was roping up an entire legion of them and about to move on to another reported area filled with them. War had broken out in the lower city with an intesnsity she hasnt seen in her lifetime. Hundreds died every day. It was almost a full scale war. The populace would have easily noticed if the trash didn't keep their attention on each other.

Whatever it was she was called away for, it had better be damn good!

"Report." Lin said flatly. She hadn't had coffee yet, or breakfast. Did she even have dinner the night before? She didn't remember, probably not. She had been spending most of her time in the lower city for the last two days. She needed a hot meal, a cold shower, a bubble bath, her armor cleaned and shined and repaired, and a manicure. No... forget the manicure, just have another bath.

An officer bowed quickly and said, "A few hours ago we received report someone was tearing up the road. We sent a small squad to investigate. The patrol found we needed reinforcements to deal with this problem."

It looked to her like cars to piled up together and the road was completely torn to shreds. Like someone had taken a jagged knife through it.

"Which gang?" She asked. The last thing she needed was the lower city war coming to the surface.

"Hard to say, maam. Here is the report the patrol gave us."

He handed her a paper, and she glanced over it.

"A single man... We needed reinforcements for that?" She asked.

"Read on." he responded.

"Super-human strength, blindness yet the ability to perceive people around him, unable to perceive objects, smashes cars and trucks and 16-wheelers with... his bare hands?" Lin looked to him, "Are you joking?"

"No maam."

"Use your damn heads!" Lin snapped. "He is clearly an earth bender, and if he is damaging vehicles, he knows how to metal bend! His fighting style is close contact!"

She shoved the paper in his chest and looked back down. She saw standing on the pile of cars a single man. He wasn't difficult to pick out, there was no one else around and moving. Cars had fled the area, not wanting to be tossed around.

The primary place to learn metal bending was in the police force, it was a privilege they did not take lightly. There were other places to learn, but none as specialized or... cheap. They offered outrageous prices.

Lin deduced the man either learned from one of these specialist schools and was a rich brat with a temper, or was ex-police. Either way, he needed to be dealt with quickly. A cage of iron wouldn't do, nor would a police transport. He would need to be contained in solid plastic. Unfortunately, there were no transports renovated with pure plastic.

"Sargeant."

"Yes Maam." the officer saluted.

"Make a note and send it to Asami Sota. We need a style of transportation for rogue ex-police in the future. Something with a hold in the back with pure hard plastic, otherwise the rogue will metal-bend his way out."

"Noted." He quickly wrote it down. His handwriting was atrocious. She hoped he understood it, because she certainly didn't.

"Now, for our little troublemaker..." She crossed her arms, "Send in what you feel is necessary. It's just one man. Meanwhile, outfit a container of solid plastic. We will need something to hold him without a speck of metal in it."

"Uh... where would I find something like that?"

"Use your head!" Lin snapped. The man recoiled, and she pulled herself back.

She really needed her coffee.

"Sorry." She straightened up and forced herself to calm, "Think about it, Sergeant. If you cannot find enough hard plastic, use something else. He needs to be surrounded in something without metal."

"Would a large container lined in car seat cushions do?"

"Yes yes yes." She turned and walked down the steps. "Just get to it. I will be in the kitchen scrounging up something."

* * *

Nel stood ontop of the beasts and roared into the world. The world had sent beasts after him, assassins bred just for someone like him, and he had bested the entire pack.

In the distance he heard more beasts running around, in search of him, but they were very far. It would be some time before they caught up to him. The city sounded full of them.

This was something that confused him. The people seemed... unnoticed by the hard-headed animals and the people did not respond ill to them either. He certainly would be nervous if he was surrounded by a pack of beasts so ferocious and deadly.

The people around him had fled, this was good, but now he was in silence. He did not hear the heartbeat of anyone anymore, and he did not have any streams of people to follow. He was in total darkness, lost and confused.

Nel growled to himself, and climbed down from the pile of bodies. He patted them and pitied them. He didn't know if they were born to be this way naturally, but he suspected they were forced and bred by man to be like this.

Were they a gentle species in the wilds? Had they been kept in cages their entire life and let loose to catch him? Were they experiments, maddened by the insanity of a situation they did not understand?

He patted the head of the one he recognized as the mother of the pack, the largest. "Find peace in death." He said gently. "Where you found none in life."

Nel walked away. He tripped over a stone step and collided with a wall. He put his hands along it, and followed it down.

He reached a short distance before he heard heartbeats. The sound was above him. Along with it came the *RATATATATATATATATATATA* of a giant humming bird above him. It sounded huge and the air shook around him.

It was a freakishly huge humming bird, he laughed.

The heartbeats steadily came closer to him at a steady pace. He searched the sound. Their blood called out to him and showed their forms. They had two limbs, two legs, a head. Humans, judging from their muscle size and stature, probably more Ire-Blood.

There were a lot of them, falling down from the sky.

Not sure what this meant, Nel instantly became defensive and put his back to the wall. Was this a natural event in these parts? From what he had found so far, he couldn't say.

His answer came when he felt himself be hit in the face with a metal rod. Simultaneously, one of the falling men had swung his fist. Nel was knocked to the ground.

"Whip huh?" Nel whispered. He wiped blood off his mouth and climbed to his feet.

A moment later, more of them were doing the same motion. Swinging their arms or punching. In turn, he felt metal rods either smack across him and one wrapped tightly around his arm. He studied them briefly. It was obvious they were all using metal whips, but it was odd to perceive people with two whips.

The attackers landed on the ground and surrounded him, their fists up.

They were whip-users with skill in martial arts, who fell from the sky. Not your every day ambush, but it was interesting. New method of Slavian's probably, or this was some new tactic of the Cynn being used by non-Cynn-Bloods. Nel took note of only the things that counted. They were hostile, they were using metal whips, and he was surrounded.

He was tired of fighting... He was tired. So tired... But it seemed his enemies were upon him, and had quite a number of methods ready at their disposal.

He said nothing, but motioned for them to attack.

* * *

"Cocky little bastard isn't he?" Lin chuckled.

She sipped her coffee and leaned against the window. A few workers watched on with her. Most of the forces were either on the ground or ready to jump.

In total, twenty-eight versus one. Overkill, but it got the job done faster. The bastard already had one rope around his right arm.

The white-haired man had just taunted them with his hand. In response, a number of them swung out metal to grab him. He made no effort to dodge, block or evade. Lin wondered what he was thinking. He was being stupid because of foolish pride.

Metal smacked against the man and grabbed his arms and legs. He keeled over slightly from the pain when he was hit in the gut, and there were a good eight men with metal around him. They began to reel him in towards their midst from separate directions in order to pin him. He was against the wall, so he was surrounded on three sides by her forces.

He planted his feet and did not move. His pulled his arms back to himself. The police pulled back on the ropes and used the engines on their backpacks to assist. The backpacks screeched in their strain to produce a pull. He did not budge a muscle, in fact, he seemed to be pulling them back to him slightly. The police struggled, strained, and leaned back to pull. They scrapped their feet across the road and some planted their feet underground to gain a firm hold.

He stopped pulling and instead ran at them. With his body low to the ground, using their pulling against them, he was in their midst in an instant. Those pulling previously fell backwards from the sudden shift in force. The rest did not notice he was upon them before it was too late.

The stranger punched one of those near the front in the gut so hard, Lin could see the man be lifted off the ground. The one being attacked in question flew into his comrades and knocked a number of them down. She put down her coffee by reflex and watched intently.

Lin realized a few things.

First off, he was a very unorthodox metal bender. Many benders would bend without direct contact, but his style focused on touching the metal armor of her forces with his fist and then pushing them away. It was a method she realized was somewhat strong. Benders were largely mid range fighters, with some close range. Most close range were fire benders. His style was closer than fire benders, closer than close. He was in your face making direct contact with you. Her troops were trained in martial arts, she made sure of it, but still relied largely on bending. Bending required a bit of room to pull an element out and then use it, a foot or two was the closest she had ever seen benders fight. He was even closer. They had no room to metal bend.

They couldn't use their whips without hitting each other, the stranger was taking advantage of that since he was in the middle of them.

Second thing, he was blocking punches and kicks with ease. Albeit, he was also avoiding them when they came from behind. This gave rise to the Lin's mind that he was an earth bender who could see around him just as she could with her bare feet. She didn't see his feet, but it didn't matter, the signs were there. He may be blind with a skill similar to her mother on second thought, or not be blind and has excellent perception.

Regardless, his style and perception was exceptional and skilled. It was fast, direct, adaptable, in-your-face close, and was making her trained forces look like children waving string around. He didn't even seem to have to be looking at them.

The troops surrounding Nel backed off, with him in the middle of them, enough for them to use bending. They used whips at him from all sides, but he jumped up in the air with a backflip. He landed, hands down, on the shoulders of an opponent. He curled up like a shrimp and brought his knee into the victim's face. The stranger landed on his feet, and the policeman was knocked away several feet with a heavy concussion.

That was... what? Six down in the last twenty seconds?

"Ok, forget this." Lin jumped up and walked out of the room. "I'm going in."

* * *

Nel had expected a fight, what he had received was... disappointing.

These Ire-Bloods were pathetic. They only kept their distance from him and used whips. They wore thin armor and had no strength them in, nor speed. Albeit, the whips hurt, but they had no value in a true fight.

Nel felt a whip grace his side, he grabbed it before it left.

In fact... the whips were a hindrance.

Nel pulled sharply on it, and brought the whip-user to his knees. Nel kicked his foot up into the man's chin and knocked him out. Another one next to him tried to pull punches. He had metal gauntlets and large muscles, all in the wrong places.

Now, granted, the gauntlets hurt, but did they crush bones? Shatter skulls? No, they produced nothing but pain. A pain that did not tell you your bones were broken or muscles cut, but the same amount of pain as tripping in grass.

Nel grabbed the man's fist in his palm and bent his wrist sharply down. The muscles on him proved to do nothing as the man squealed and fell to his knees in submission. He couldn't pull his fist out of Nel's palm, and Nel was breaking the man's wrist.

Nel let go before the wrist was broken and he hit him in the back of the head. The man fell to the ground unconscious.

He stopped and surveyed the gathering. He had now knocked out about half of them. At first, they had proved interesting. Now they were just wasting his time.

* * *

Lin landed to the ground and retracted her metal coiling. She looked to the battle and found her forces had thinned to a few now.

Lin yelled, "Back off, you will do nothing to him! Grab the wounded and retreat!" They quickly took the command into affect. They were afraid and wanted to back off.

Around Lin, another twenty landed. She motioned them back and waited. The stranger was not moving. He had wounded men all around his feet, and he did not restrain her men from taking away the faint and hurt. He only stood up straight, waiting.

So the rogue had honor? Nice to see, but didn't change anything.

Lin stomped the ground, knocking up the sewer cap next to her. She punched and the cap flew for him. The rogue turned to face her, but made no effort to evade. It collided with his head and he fell. The cap made a vibrating sound that echoed through the area.

The rogue fell back several feet and did not move after hitting the ground. The cap rolled around and clattered to the ground by the side.

Lin nodded in a mental conversation and motioned for her forces to take him into custody.

* * *

Aang turned his face up to the air and asked, "What was that?"

"Hm. Sounded like a car crash. It happens." Asami shrugged.

"What?! Are people hurt?" Aang gasped.

"Yes, but it's ok. We have precautions for situations such as those. The people should be alive and the police on the way."

Not listening, Aang ran off.

"Aang!" Bolin called out. "What can you do when you can't bend?"

Aang disappeared around a corner.

Asami giggled, "He listens about as well as Korra does."

"Family resemblance?" Bolin suggested.

* * *

Nel frowned. He had just been hurt reasonably well. He could handle this easily, but his mind did not move toward the older woman who had thrown a shield at him. His mind moved to someone he feared.

Deep down, the monster inside him awakened. The monster had awakened in the fight with Slavian, but he had managed to push it back, barely. Nel then awakened in a prison-island, fighting a number of assassin beasts, and now these whip forces had awakened it again. If the fights continued, it would be difficult.

It's ok, he could handle it. He just needed to end this quickly and find some place to calm down.

A number of men gathered around him. Nel jumped up faster than he intended and knocked them to the side.

He searched briefly for the older woman, and charged for her. He wove into the masses and between them. He kicked into full speed and became invisible to their slow eyes.

He was halted by another wall. Nel peeled his face off the wall and recognized something. The woman had stomped and raised her hands just before the wall appeared. Was she able to make walls at will?

Nel moved on and thrust his fist into the wall. He pierced it and then rammed it with his shoulder. It crumbled before him and he continued on for the woman. She was a few feet ahead, and she hesitated slightly. She did not appear to expect him to smash her wall down.

Taking advantage of the moment, Nel pulled her by the wrist to himself and pinned her.

* * *

The man was fast, faster than anything she had ever seen. He had completely disappeared into thin air, but her earth sense had continued to pick up on him.

Now he was holding her to himself as a shield with her head held firmly in his hands. Judging from his strength, he could snap her neck like a twig. Trying to resist probably would result in injury. The arrest had turned into a hostage situation. She didn't mind dieing in her duty, but there was no need for it all the same.

Lin looked to her men and motioned for them to hold on a moment. They held back and encircled the two of them.

The rogue growled through his teeth and said, "Nyan Ikeer!"

_What?_ Lin thought.

She said, "Ok, Peewee, you got me. Lets not do anything rash now." Lin raised her hands defensively and followed him as he took a step back.

Her men continued to encircle them, and began to step closer. They were cautious. They did not wish to mess up a sudden hostage situation.

The rogue held her closer and squeezed harder, also his growling became louder. He didn't appear to be growling in threat, it was too quiet. It sounded like his growling was involuntary.

"Nyan Ikeer!" The man yelled out again. He continued to walk backwards a bit more steadily and slowly.

"Boys," Lin said to her men, "I think he means to back off."

"Maam?" One of her officers asked.

"What is the protocol for a hostage situation! Hm?" Lin asked.

"Not get anyone hurt." the officer nodded. He began to step back. The rest of her forces followed his example.

Lin felt the rogue relax slightly and he stopped moving.

"Ok, Peewee." Lin began gently. She kept her arms up away from him. She didn't even make any effort to keep his arm from being around her neck. Last thing they needed was him feeling threatened. "What do you want next?"

"Ilonius yurin! Anix whurer iteer ki n sceer anu!" He yelled.

"Right." Lin responded. "Lets go with that... Do you understand what I am saying?"

The rogue didn't respond. Was that a yes or no?

"Peewee?"

Peewee started to growl slightly louder, and he started to shake. It wasn't enough for the others to notice, but Lin was pinned completely to him with her back to his chest.

"Nescio quid dicam. Hoc opus superare licet." Peewee said quietly, into Lin's ear.

"Ok... This could be a problem." Lin responded gravely, "I take it you don't understand me, and I know don't understand whatever the hell that was."

This was a situation that could escalate quickly... The first step to securing hostage situations was communication. The first step alone was proving to be impossible.

But it gave her an idea. First of all, she needed to keep talking. Peewee needed to be relaxed a bit.

"Sargeant." Lin said. She didn't raise her voice nor lower it. She needed to keep her voice calm and relaxed.

"Maam?" Was the response.

Her forces had distanced themselves to ten feet but kept their guard up.

"I am going to tell you all a story, listen well."

The officer looked at her like she had lost her mind.

"Once, when I was a little girl, I had a dog." Lin said casually. "I was very much a free spirit in my youth, much like my mother. I loved to visit Uncle Aang, Uncle Sokka and others around the city. Sokka loved seeing my dog, and something he often did was tell the dog he was a 'bad boy'. But his tone was a pleasent loving playful tone while he would tell it to my dog. The result was my dog thought it was pleasant to be called a bad boy, and he proved to be a very difficult one. Now, can you tell me how that worked?"

The sargeant looked to her dumbly.

Lin resisted the urge to sigh. She needed officers who could follow her thoughts. She explained, "The dog did not know English, but could pick up on patterns in words and tones of voice." She spoke casually, as though they were talking about the weather. "The tone of his voice made the dog believe the word pattern was good while the meaning of the words were not. Now, please compare my dog to Mr. Peewee here!"

Comon! Pick up on the obvious connection!

"So..." the officer began to smile. "We need to plan something while sounding like we are not." He lowered his fists and motioned for the others to do the same.

Peewee involuntarily relaxed more, but not near enough. He began to step back, but did not complete the step. Lin caught his hesitation and figured he did not know what to think.

Ok, he was confused, that's something.

Lin caught in her corner of her vision a bright light, like a firefly, come close and then fly off. Odd thing to see during the day...

"Let's go over what we know." Lin said simply. She did not lower her hands, but did work on her voice to sound cheerful and relaxed. "He is fast."

"Strong." Someone added.

"Can see in every direction." her Sargeant added as well.

"Yep, and clearly a close range oriented earth and metal bender." Lin finished. "Do we have any water benders among us?"

"Not here at this moment."

"Then get some." Lin smiled hard to him. The smile scared him. "Ice is similar to earth and metal, yet not bendable by someone like him."

"How about fire benders?" Her sargeant asked.

"What are you thinking?"

"Well, ice is good, but he is still strong and fast. Lightning would make his limbs not function properly, giving us a chance to encase him in ice."

"Good, good." FINALLY her officer grew a brain! She knew he could do it. "Get on that."

Peewee asked, "Esto, confusus sum animo. Quid agatur hic?" Judging from his tone, he was questioning what they were discussing. He relaxed further. Just a bit more would be enough for her to jump away.

They needed to buy for time.

"Sargeant, hum a lullaby."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard what I s-"

Some random high-pitched voice appeared out of the background, "THERE YOU ARE!"

Lin tensed and so did Peewee. He shoved her head deeper into his grip and she felt her neck begin to strain. His growling grew audibly enough for everyone to notice.

Out of the line of the forces came a nine year old boy.

* * *

Ethoe sat in silence with his eyes closed. One of his sentinals flew to him and he took the sentinal into his hands. He broke it and explored its contents.

Before him, he saw Nel'Andra surrounded by police in a hostage situation.

Ok, this was officially bad.

Ethoe jumped to his feet and looked in the direction the information had come from. He jumped off the building and became surrounded in a bubble of air. He flew.

Ethoe rose in the air and over the building tops to where they were.

* * *

Lin felt Peewee take another step back. He was very much confused. For that matter, so was she. No, she wasn't confused. She was aghast.

What kind of brat has the gawl to completely mess up a hostage situation!

"Kid, get the hell outta here!" Lin hissed sharply.

"No, its ok, I got this." The boy responded casually. Her troops were too dumbfounded to do anything as he began to walk forward.

Peewee took another step back, slowly. She moved with him.

Lin snarled, "Brat, either you back up, or I am gonna arrest you along with this guy!"

The brat stopped about five feet away from her and Peewee, and looked like she had just slapped him. He didn't seem to understand why she would snap at him.

WHAT! WAS HE RETARDED?!

Out of the line of people jumped Bolin and Asami Sato. They took one look at the situation and were stunned as well. Peewee turned his head toward the newcomers and turned Lin to the left as he turned as well. He began to walk backwards now steadily. His growl turned into a livid snarl.

Lin felt him disappear and she fell to the ground. Her body met the street, and her head met air. She landed with a *OOF*. Lin jumped up in shock and looked around. Behind her was the sewer opening she had removed the cap from.

Peewee had fallen into the hole.


	6. Chapter 6 - To Calm a Predator

Something brought to my attention is that Aang in this FF is 9-years old whereas he was 12 in the series. This is a mistake on my part. His age wasn't important to me, as long as he was young. I didn't think much about what age to make him, I just threw a number out in the range between 9-11.

There is a reason he is young, and a small reason for being 9-years old, but I could have easily kept his age intact to the story. Its a small error on my part.

Explanation:

Kure'Gane - In Ancient times, he was an immortal member of the Council of Dozen specializing in science and medicine. He was renowned for being able to cure nearly any physical ailment. He was a close friend to Nel'Andra.

* * *

Chapter 6 - To Calm a Predator

* * *

Ethoe sighted a gathering of the residential police force and landed on the ground out of sight. He ran as fast as he could into their midst and caught sight of Aang, Bolin, and Asami.

Aang was conversing with an older woman.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!" She yelled at the lad.

Aang ducked down defensively and realized he had forgotten he looked different. "I'm sorry! I just-"

"You just what?! Didn't you see what was going on!" She continued to yell.

Asami and Bolin looked like they wanted to say something, but what could be said? The woman would understand if she knew it was Aang she was talking to, but to her, it was some random brat.

Ethoe entered their midst and asked, "Where did he go?"

Lin Beifong looked to the newest arrival and grew a shade brighter in red, "What!? There's another one of you!" She turned sharply to Asami and Bolin, "I trust you two have something to do with them?"

Bolin started nervously, "Ugh, well. He's uh, an av-"

"Aviator." Asami finished for him. She pressed her heel into his toes and he squeaked in pain. Asami smiled and said casually, "He is a relative of Korra's. He dreams of being an aviator one day. His name is..." Asami's eyes peered around slightly in search of something. She caught sight of a shop in the distance which was called 'Elgin's mechanics'.

"... Elgin." Asami stated. "We are taking him out for a little stroll."

Ethoe moved to the open sewer pipe. He surveyed the area and came to the conclusion Nel'Andra had fallen down the hole. His conclusion was based on the location and formation of the policeman, as well as Lin's original position, and the image he had seen from his sentinel before. There was a 78% chance his friend had gone this way.

"Mhmm..." Lin Beifong narrowed her eyes at them and glanced down to Ethoe. "And him? Kid, step away from there. Now."

Ethoe ignored her.

Asami rubbed her temples and apologized, "I am sorry, Mrs. Beifong! He is..." What were the odds of Lin knowing who Ethoe is? "Ethoe. He is brother of Elgin."

Lin nodded, not seeming to believe it. She crouched down and looked evenly at Ethoe. She observed his white hair, dark eyes, and expressionless face. "You look nothing like your brother..." She said.

Ethoe ignored her and asked, "Did he go down this pipe?"

"As if I am telling you, family of the Avatar or no-"

Ethoe put his hand on her forehead quickly. Where his hand was, a symbol appeared briefly before disappearing. She became silent and her eyes were unfocused. He asked, "We don't have time for this. Did he go down this pipe?"

"Yes." Lin nodded.

"Good, leave this chase to me." Ethoe stood up and motioned to Aang to follow. "Mrs. Sato, Mr. Bolin, please return to the island."

"Yes." Lin bowed.

Her sergeant looked to her like she had completely lost her mind. Before he could stop the kids, Ethoe jumped in and Aang followed suit.

* * *

Aang fell into water. He instantly realized his mouth was open. The water tasted like crap. Odds are, that's exactly what it was.

"Ah! Eewww!" Aang climbed up onto a ledge nearby and tried to wipe away as much as possible from his new clothes and spit up everything in his mouth. "I just got these!"

Aang pulled off his jacket and looked at it, "This stuff with never come out. Asami is gonna kill me..."

Ethoe followed him up onto the ledge and said, "Hold on." He put a hand on the jacket, and a moment later all of the water and dirt and dust and stuff on the jacket fell off like flowing oil. Ethoe then followed suit with the rest of Aang and himself.

"Wow, nice!" Aang put his jacket back on. He breathed in a sigh of relief, and stopped short to grab his nose. "Arghhh! The place still smells. Can you do anything about that?"

"It could be much worse."

"Oh, I know that, but..." Aang lost his words, "Fine. Where did he go?"

Aang looked around. The only light came from the sewer opening above them, and they were lucky enough to be on a ledge now above the water. The sewage flowed to his left, and the ledge followed suit. There was no way to go except left or right. There were also clear wet tracks heading left.

"Let's follow the path." Ethoe entered the darkness following the flow.

Aang began to follow, but stopped short. "Ugh, Shadow Spirit Sir?"

"It's Ethoe." The darkness said.

"I can't see in the dark, and can't fire bend."

"Right..." A fire appeared in front of Aang, banishing the darkness. It was in Ethoe's palm. "Come. I have questions."

"Ok?" Aang replied. They set themselves to the path.

"What happened?" Ethoe asked. "I heard some things from 3rd party sources, but no eye witnesses. What happened when I freed Nel'Andra?"

"Freed..." Aang scratched his head in thought, "Was that when the coffin disappeared?"

Ethoe nodded.

"Then." Aang coughed into his hand and plugged his nose. "He jussht lahyed there fer a moment, on the ground asleep. Nehxt moment he was sluggin Korra an makin a run for tha water."

"After that?"

"Ugh... He cauhssed some damage in the courtyard we were jusht in, and then fought the police ferce, took Lin hosshtahge, and fell down dis hole."

"Please unplug your nostrils, Avatar."

"Nho."

"..."

They stopped at a fork in the path. The tracks had ended. The water flowed to their left, but there was a bridge going over the water allowing passage to the right. Ethoe motioned for Aang to sit and he slapped his hands together. In his hands appeared two symbols, and they flew down either path. The bright symbols disappeared into the darkness beyond their fire light.

"Why whould he even do dat?" Aang asked. His nose still closed. "He ha' no reasson to attack Korra nor hurt anyone!"

Ethoe frowned and looked down.

"Did you have somehin to do wit it?"

"Yes and no. You see..." Ethoe sighed and said, "This is messed up. When I froze Nel'Andra, he was already unconcious. He was a prisoner of Slavian's. Slavian had him chained, activily bleeding so he would never heal, and crippled. I healed him first, but never allowed him to awaken. His very last memory may very well be of fighting Slavian. To him, no time has passed."

Aang turned in thought. If he was fighting someone, and then awoke without knowledge of time passing, he would probably be defensive when he first woke up. "Ok."

"What's more, he is confused. This land is foreign to him. I need to get to him and explain everything."

Aang laughed, "Sounds like you have quite a bit to explain to him. Million years is no small number."

Ethoe looked down gravely, "Yes..." Aang looked at him worriedly.

"Something wrong?"

Ethoe looked up and smiled. It was fake. "Yes... Very wrong. Nel'Andra is one of the few mortals I truly pity and feel sorrow for. His life has been one of the worst a mortal can endure, and asking him to join us against Slavian... He will jump at the chance to do it, but I am afraid the fighting will destroy him. Not that he will die easily, but destroy him as a person and turn him into something worse. His reasons will be about vengeance."

Aang shrugged, "Then lets make it not about revenge! but justice! Who knows, he may see it our way."

Ethoe shook his head, "No. He will not."

One of the sentinels returned. Ethoe took his pet into his hands with the care of a loving owner. After a moment he said, "Nel'Andra is found." He motioned to the right.

Aang didn't care what Ethoe thought, he was going to get this Nel'Andra person to do it for the right reasons!

"Then lets go!" Aang jumped up and ran in the direction Ethoe pointed to. Ethoe followed along at a casual pace. In the distance was a light, and under it was a crouched figure.

Aang ran to the light, and fell into water in his way. It would have been comical if Ethoe wasn't the only one watching. Ethoe jumped over the sewage, and Aang climbed out again.

Before them, light came down from a sewage grate. Beneath the light in a small enclosing was a crouched man. His hair was dark from the sewar water and his back was to them. He was shaking violently and growling and snarling to himself.

Ethoe grabbed Aang sharply by the shoulder and pulled back, but it was too late. Nel'Andra turned his head toward them. The cloth was no longer over his eyes.

Aang gasped and was stunned, frozen in place from horror. There were nails in his eyes.

Nel'Andra lunged for them with his arms outstretched. He roared like an animal. Ethoe stomped the ground and iron bars blocked Nel'Andra in. Nel'Andra bashed himself into the iron and fell to the ground, hurt from the force of his impact.

Aang fell back onto his butt. His face had lost all of its color, and his cheerfulness was gone. His sight were locked on the man's nailed eyes before him. "Wha-What happened to him!?"

Ethoe grabbed Aang by the collar and sharply pulled him back. "Move!" Ethoe snapped. Nel'Andra reached out through the bars quickly. His hand grazed Aang's foot.

Nel'Andra roared in anger and pain, and threw himself into the iron bars again, and again, and again. Repeatedly he threw himself into the iron bars, then into the walls around him. All the while growling and snarling. Blood came from his mouth and shoulders and arms. His skin was scratched sharply on the walls and his bare feet torn up by the stone.

Ethoe pulled Aang away to a safe distance and sighed, "That... is what happens to those under Slavian's hold."

"By the spirits..." Aang gasped. "What can we do?"

"Not sure yet..." Ethoe collapsed to the ground by Aang. "I didn't expect him to enter this state. I probably should have though. Nothing can set him off like Slavian does. He is a very calm and reasonable person, perhaps even loving, most of the time; but you bring Slavian into the equation and all of that goes away."

"I... I see what you mean now." Aang gulped. "About him destroying himself in vengeance. He will be difficult to cure."

Ethoe looked to his friend in curiosity. He doubted Aang could possibly change him, but it was interesting to see how Aang still held onto the belief he could while looking at Nel'Andra in his most raw state. Sometimes simply true belief in yourself was enough to do it. Confidence.

"Still, we need to get him calmed down before we can talk." Aang continued.

"Indeed."

"Any ideas?"

"Besides knocking him out? I am not sure."

Ethoe sat against the wall and closed in eyes. "Let me think."

Aang said, "Ok, I'll just sit here. You know... quietly."

* * *

Aang looked over to Ethoe when he opened his eyes. Ethoe was crying gently. Ethoe crying?

"Are you ok?"

Ethoe nodded and wiped the tears away. "Yes. I found what I needed."

Ethoe rose and looked to Nel'Andra in his cage. Nel had fallen from self-inflicted pain, but continued to growl. He looked like he had done more damage to himself in the last few minutes than the police had done in the entire fight before along with the cars. Blood covered him.

Ethoe began to move his hands around, weaving something in the air. After a few moments, bright lights appeared before him. Symbols, shapes, words. He was making something. "Aang, I recalled his past, and remembered there are a few things which had an effect on him even in this state."

"Yes?"

"Love and song. More specifically, the lullaby of a person in particular."

"Sweet. Thats amazingly simple." Aang admitted.

"Yes, but also comes with pain of its own. You see..." Ethoe stopped moving his hands. His creation was finished. "This song is the song of a girl named Alare, his dead fiance."

"Dead?!" Aang gasped. "Wow... Um. You think this is wise then?"

"No, not really, but it is the only way to make him lucid."

The creation of Ethoe was a circle with symbols and shapes within it. He put his hand on it, and the circle began to spin. Faster and faster it spun until Aang could no longer track any part of it.

Out of the bright light came a voice. It was a young voice of a girl. It was vibrant, energetic, and sounded like she was striving for something.

(Song is "Touch the Sky" from Brave Soundtrack. It fits perfectly with Alare.

watch?v=JEi43OrwoRs)

When cold winds are calling,

And the sky is clear and bright,

Misty mountains sing and beckon,  
Lead me out into the light.  
I will ride, I will fly,  
Chase the wind and touch the sky,  
I will fly,  
Chase the wind and touch the sky.  
Where dark woods hide secrets,  
And mountains are fierce and bold,  
Deep waters hold reflections,  
Of times lost long ago.  
I will hear their every story,  
Take hold of my own dream,  
Be as strong as the seas are stormy,  
And proud as an eagle's scream.  
I will ride, I will fly,  
Chase the wind and touch the sky,  
I will fly,  
Chase the wind and touch the sky.  
And touch the sky.  
Chase the wind, chase the wind.  
Touch the sky.

(end song)

As the song came out, Ethoe explained, "Alare was born blind, but with wings. She could fly, but was held back since she couldn't see it as flying without eyes is too dangerous. Despite being crippled, she was a bright person, always dreaming. A very strong woman. Loved to sing."

Aang cried slightly, and wiped his eyes as the song ended. "That was beautiful."

Ethoe nodded. He turned his attention to Nel'Andra. Nel'Andra had ceased growling, and was sitting cross legged behind the cage.

"Excellent." Ethoe said. He formed a quick symbol, and it flew toward Nel. It landed on his forehead and dimmed brightly for a moment before disappearing.

* * *

Nel didn't know where he was, or how long he was out. He was blinded by his own rage and pain, and he could not break out. The animal part of him had exploded and consumed him as an open flame. No matter how hard he tried, it was overwhelming. The darkness in his soul took every crevice of his mind, and he could find no corner to hide in where it did not chase him. Everywhere he turned, he found himself filled with pain and agony. His head hurt and he could feel his body was breaking itself. A pressure came over his mind and smothered him, putting him to sleep.

Then he heard a voice, a loving voice. One he remembered. He did not recognize what the voice was saying, but the voice was accompanied with the sound of song. He did not recognize the words, but he knew the tune well.

Hearing it, the beast and darkness slowed. They no longer raged and ate at him. They were being calmed. The voice sounded soothing, warm. The aches and pains surrounding him lifted. The beast fell asleep, and the darkness recoiled itself back to whence it came.

Nel'Andra came to and found he was badly hurt. It was often the case when he lost control. Nearby he heard the voices of two youngsters, and he registered their heartbeats. One of them was calm, and the other excited. Whether this excitement was from horror or joy, he could not tell. Only that his heartbeat was excited.

They were speaking to each other. Nel searched out for the wall and leaned against it. He needed a moment to relax. He listened out and searched for more heartbeats. He had heard the song of Alare, he knew it. She often sung it to him at night. It was the only song which could bring him out of his darkest moments. Yet, no matter how he looked or listened. He did not hear her heartbeat.

Then he remembered, she was dead, murdered. Nel lowered his head and hissed at himself. He reached into his shirt and found a necklace around his neck. He clutched it closely. How could he have forgotten she was dead? He was the one who witnessed it.

Where had the voice come from? was it his own imagination? If this was so, then he was truly going mad with grief.

"Biztos, hogy ez is going to work?" One of the boys said.

Nel cocked his head and asked, "What is going to work?"

The excited youngster jumped up and hollared, "Whoa! Wha-! Hold on! I thought he didn't speak English!"

English? What's English? They were speaking Basic.

"I taught him." The other responded flatly.

Nel sighed to himself. He didn't care for conversation, and he did not desire company. His heart ached with memory of Alare. Hearing her voice weighed on him greatly. Fighting multiple battles today had not helped his mood either. She would not have wished for him to fight, rather to flee and find peace in the wilderness or isolated village. Instead he had entered a city, dived straight into fights, and taken his anger out on any who attacked him.

Nel kicked himself and felt tears come. She would have been less than pleased.

The boys continued to talk amongst themselves, and Nel felt his anger return. He wanted to be alone and they just stood there by him talking! They didn't care about his wishes! They didn't care he was mourning silently!

"Begone." Nel snarled. "Leave me be."

The boys turned their attention to him. One said, "I am afraid that will be a difficult request, Nel'Andra Thosiline."

Nel scoffed, "Why? Seeing a man in pain fascinates you? I care little for your perverse pleasures. Begone."

"Hey, no need to be rude." The other said.

"I said begone!" Nel roared.

A silence came over them, and the first boy asked gently, "Nel'Andra, let me ask you. Do you know where you are?"

Nel turned his face away. No, he didn't know, but he didn't care to be mocked for simple ignorance. This place had charactertists of Soran architecture, Ire landscape, beasts with no heartbeat, an army of whip fighters who could move the ground with their mind. All in all, a very weird place.

"Do you know when you are?" The boy continued.

Nel chuckled, "'When I am?'? Time means little to immortals, child. It does not matter if a day or year has transpired. The same things will always exist. Change is a concept that cannot exist as long as immortals control the land. change is a rumor given by parents to their children as a seed. A seed meant to implant in them the hope that it can be achieved where the previous generation failed, where every generation failed. In other words, it is passing on an impossible mission to the next so that they might beat themselves against the stone and utterly destroy themselves. Take your change, young one, and throw it into the nearest ocean. It will serve you better when you feel it to be beyond your reach."

"You are right. A day. A year. An entire generation. These time frames mean nothing to the infinite lifespan of immortals and time as an entirity," The second boy acknowledged. "but what about a million years?"

...

What? A million years. The idea of a million years passing in the blink of an eye... Nel did not mind children most of the time, but he refused to play games of 'what if'. He resided in the realm of possibility.

Nel said nothing. He hoped the boy would move on.

"I will take that as a no." The child said.

Was this kid seriously messing with him?

"Who are you?" Nel asked.

"My name is Ethoe." The second boy said evenly. The name sounded familiar.

"I'm Aang!" The other said excitedly.

"What do you want?" Nel asked. The sooner he dealt with them, the sooner they would leave... hopefully.

Ethoe sighed deeply and said, "Nel'Andra... This place is called Republic City, capital of the United Republic of Nations."

Ok, so the boy wasn't a complete annoyance. He was nice enough to tell him where he was. But where was Republic City? He had never heard of the United Republic of Nations. Judging from the name, it sounded like a huge alliance of nations. Had the Empire's enemys united under a new name? Had the Empire's name changed?

He scoffed at either option. The Empire's enemies were divided and hated each other almost as much as the Empire, and Slavian would not waste his time changing the name of the Empire to something like that.

"I have never heard of a United Republic of Nations."

"There is a reason for that. Nel'Andra, soon after your initial coma Slavian started a full scale war with the spirit world. We froze the entire Council of Dozen, your whole world, in ice and preservation for eternity. Your unconscious state carried over from the first coma to the second smoothly. This world you find yourself in, is a million years in the future."

"Hm." Nel'Andra leaned against the wall and sighed deeply. "You wouldn't happen to have proof would you?"

"What proof would you ask, but then how would it have any value?" Ethoe asked. "If I were to give you anything, you could easily write it off as something else. If I shift the mountains, you could say explosives native to Soran or the power of Slavian. If I restored your sight, you would say the cure came from Kure'Gane. Any proof of value I would offer, then, would have to exist outside the realm of possibility. A miracle, if you will, but I will not bring out miracles by the wishes of a mortal."

Nel responded, "A Soran-Blood once told me... Miracles are actions of God. Meant to instil faith into a time when there was little to go on."

"A stamp of authority, in other words."

Nel nodded. "You are unnaturally wise for a child. Very well. I will listen."

* * *

Aang blinked in surprise, "All of that was just to get him to listen to us?"

"Yes." Ethoe responded. "Now I want you to be the one to speak with him." Ethoe stood up and straightened himself. "I have matters to attend to."

"What?! Me! I don't know anything about Nel'Andra!"

"And you don't have to. He has your attention. Just do your best." Ethoe entered the darkness and disappeared.

"Hey! Wait!" Ethoe was already gone. Aang scratched his head and looked to the man behind the bars. "Rats. Ok... um..." How was he supposed to begin? This guy was a brute, with deep emotional scars, and seemed to lose control at times. He had zero experience in people like this.

"Your name is Aang, correct?" Nel'Andra asked.

Aang nodded, "Yes. I am the Avatar."

Nel'Andra cocked his head to the side. "You are Aang, the Avatar. I am named Nel'Andra Thosiline, The Blood Pheonix. You are of the Council?"

"Oh no!" Aang waved the idea aside. "The Council is still frozen, as Ethoe said. I didn't know they existed until... actually until yesterday."

"Yet, here I am."

"Yeah... Ethoe decided he wanted your help and freed you."

Nel'Andra nodded. "I see."

"Yeah..."

Awkward silence set in. Uh... what to say. what to say. Oh! Lets try to find common ground.

"Do you know what an Avatar is?" Aang tried.

"Never heard of one. As your title is 'The Avatar', I would presume that makes you it."

Ok... So first he needed to explain this.

"Well, first off." Aang began. He straightened himself and felt a bit more relaxed once he knew entered the flow of conversation. "An Avatar is a reincarnation cycle. There is always one Avatar; and when the Avatar dies, he or she is reborn. The Avatars are the strongest benders, able to bend all of the elements. We also act as ambassadors between the mortal world and spirit world. One of our primary goals is to keep balance of nations and prevent war and support justice."

Nel'Andra said nothing, nor did he move.

"Did you catch any of that?"

"Your a peace-keeping powerful ambassador kid who doesn't know how to die properly." Nel'Andra said snidely.

"Uh... I guess thats about right?" Aang had never heard of anyone put it quite like that.

"What is bending?"

This question threw Aang for a loop. "Wha- wait... you don't know what bending is?" Aang's eyes grew big and he stared at him. Who didn't know what bending was?!

"Never heard of it. Explain."

"Ok! Right!" Aang felt Nel'Andra was rushing him. He thought quickly. "Bending is basically where we use our chi to shift the elements. Most people's chi has a connection with one element, but the Avatar has a connection with them all. Observe."

Aang jumped up and tried to air bend. He punched the air.

Nothing happened.

Nel'Andra asked, "Did you do something?"

Aang needed to remember he couldn't bend...

"No, sorry. I forgot I don't have my power back yet... Ethoe needs to return it."

"Sooo, your a peace-keeping powerful ambassador kid who can't die properly AND has no power? Great job. I can see why you have to reincarnate to do it properly."

"Hey! I can bend! Just not yet. I will show you when I have it back."

"Fair enough. I look forward to that day."

Ok... Aang was beginning to get aggravated. He glared at Nel'Andra and turned aside. The guy didn't have to be an ass about it all.

"Listen... I don't know what I am supposed to say alright! You are from an ancient time, a time I know nothing about. But... I messed up. I caused something called the 'Avatar Mechanism' to begin freeing Slavian."

Nel'Andra perked up instantly. Aang did not notice.

Aang continued, "I knew nothing of Slavian until recently, nor of you or anyone from your time. As far as I know, you are a criminal in your time." Nel'Andra scoffed. "But, we need to keep Slavian from returning. Ethoe believes you can be of assistance to us. More than that, I want to believe you deserve a second chance."

Aang returned his attention to Nel'Andra to find he had moved to the bars and was peering at Aang. Nel'Andra had no eyes, but his face was toward him.

"You say 'deserve'... what do you know of my crimes?"

"Nothing."

"Then how can you possibly say I deserve anything?"

On the surface, this sounded like he was just being an ass again. But his tone. He genuinely sounded curious. Aang smiled, "Because that is kinda my thing. I guess I like to see good in people, even where it is not easy to see."

Nel'Andra broke out into laughter. He laughed for a good long moment and said, "You are an odd one!" Then Nel'Andra stopped smiling and laughing. His smile had lasted a moment, and disappeared just as fast. "And you say you want my help against Slavian?"

Aang nodded. "Yes."

"Very well. I am not sure yet if this is a game or not, but any who are against Slavian Aeterna is an ally of mine. I will help you."

"That's good!" Aang jumped up happily. He stopped himself and asked, "But... why? What reason would you have to help us against him?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"I believe reasons are important. I am helping because it is my responsibility to, and it is the right thing to do."

Nel'Andra nodded, "Those are good reasons."

"Yes," Aang wasn't going to let him evade the question. "but yours?"

Nel turned his head aside and stated, "... He took everything from me. My life, my family, my joy and purpose in life. I intend to return the favor."

"No! I won't accept that!"

Nel was confused. He asked, "First you ask me to help you, then not to?"

"Of course I want your help!" Aang responded. He paced around in front of the bars. "But I dont want you to help me just because you want to hurt him!"

"You don't know a thing about him!" Nel snarled. "He deserves it!"

"Perhaps! Perhaps not! but is it our place to decide that?" Aang asked. "Is it not the place of those above us to pass out finality?"

Aang shocked Nel into silence, and Nel lowered his head in thought. After a moment he said quietly. "If the chance comes... will I be permitted to beat him senseless?"

"Only if you don't kill him without direct orders from the spirits."

"Very well." Nel growled, "I shall abide by that."

"And why?" Aang pressed.

"... Because... it is just that his evil is stopped." Nel said quietly. He said it as though the phrase was giving him a bad taste in his mouth.

"Good!" Aang cheered. He stuck his hand through the bars and said, "Welcome to the gang."

Nel didnt grab his hand or respond.

"You are supposed to take my hand and shake it." Aang said. "It is a social sign of agreement to a contract."

Nel grabbed the top of Aang's thumb and shook his hand around.

Aang laughed, "Close enough."

Aang tried to earth bend the bars away. Nothing happened. He needed to get Ethoe to give him his bending back!

"Um..." Aang scratched his head. "I can't remove the bars. Sorry."

"Not a problem." Nel'Andra reached out and felt the bars in his hands. His skin turned black and he bent the bars. His skin became white again.

Aang gasped, "You could have bent the bars?! Why didn't you?"

Nel'Andra shrugged. "Didn't bother. Bars don't bother me." Nel stepped out and motioned for Aang to lead on.

Aang looked at him nervously and said, "Uh... One last thing."

"Yes?"

"Its about your eyes..."

Nel felt his eyes. He knew of the nails, but something was missing... What was it?

"That's really disgusting to look at." Aang said apologetically.

Right, a covering! Nel ripped off a piece of his shirt and wrapped it around his head to cover his eyes.

* * *

Ok! So now Nel'Andra has joined them. Nel has caused some problems that need to be settled, but it something :P


	7. Chapter 7 - Apologies Made

Just so everyone knows, I am gonna be adding another character! I like putting in characters I feel are not given enough light and expanding on them ;)

Time for some more love spread around!

I will also warn ya'll, I wont be focusing much on Mako in the future. He is a person I feel is rather shallow. He is good character, but not much to expand on and work with for me.

* * *

Gommu strolled down the street and greeted each neighbor one by one. He clapped one on the back, saluted a second, asked the third what it was he was eating. The third one didn't know.

Gommu continued on with his hands in his vest, a click in his step, and a used toothpick in his teeth. He stopped before a hut and shot it open with his foot. He called out, "Sooo! My dubious young friend! Are you feeling better?"

Inside the darkness was a man of about 30. His hair was dark and longer than before. His mustache was not groomed, and he was also growing a beard. He was suffering from malnutrition. His eyes were down and his face grim and thoughtful.

"No." The former Lieutenant of Amon responded. He turned his head away.

"Ah, that's a shame. You really should eat something."

"I'm not hungry."

"hm..." Gommu perched down by the man and looked him over quickly. "You want to talk about it?"

The lieutenant looked over to him and asked, "What?"

"You been here a long time!" Gommu said brightly, "All alone, in the dark, not eating much, thinking."

The lieutenant said nothing.

"You were found broken and healed here. You been thinking ever since. Surely something came to you." Gommu prodded. He peered at the man intently.

"I've been remembering." The man responded.

"Oh! Interesting." Gommu sat down and looked like a kid at an action movie.

The lieutenant tried to ignore him, but lets face it. Gommu is hard to ignore. "I was born to a family that as well off. We weren't rich, we weren't poor, but we were powerful. We had contacts, we could technically do much of anything we wanted if we wanted it. My father and mother had power, but didn't use it. I was given a good education. I had many friends, many of whom turned out to be benders later on. They formed a kind of gang and bullyed others, and I drifted from them. I was normal. I was among the best in my class, but didn't show off so no one knew."

"Sounds like a good beginning." Gommu commented.

The liuetenant nodded. "Then, a man went on a rampage. I came home to find my father dead. My mother tried to keep the company up, but lacked father's drive and expertise. I tried, and it fell apart in my young fingers. The co-owners tore my father's company apart to take it for themselves, and stole it from my family. We settled down in a lower standing, and I was trained to defend myself by a veteran of war."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's fine, we adapted. We were family." He looked down sadly, "But the murderer returned, and tore my mother apart from the inside out."

Gommu's eyes went wide, "How did he?!"

"Blood bender."

"Oh good heavens..."

"He was eventually caught, and had his bending taken by the Avatar." The lieutenant continued, "But it didn't change anything... I sat in silence after the trial, much like now, and thought. I came to a conclusion. No one should have that much power. I was trained to defend myself, my family had power and money, and not to brag... but my father was a damn good shot with a shotgun. but did any of that matter? Did anything so much as deter him? Every day, I saw people with this special trait called 'bending' hurt others. No matter how powerful their victims were, no matter how skilled or strong, it all was useless. What use is the skill to use a gun to defend your family when a monster can burn your house down from outside? What use is being able to fight well hand-to-hand when you have the earth moving under you or rocks breaking your arm from thirty feet away? Hard work was being useless in the face of 'high birth'."

The lieutenant grew silent for a while. After a time he continued, "I came to the conclusion, that the playing field needed to be evened. Benders needed to realize that life came with hard work, and not short cutting. A boat is manned by sweaty men putting their backs into it, by the strength of their mind, body, and teamwork, and not some prodigy sitting there waving his arms around. Technology is the only thing that has truly helped people, and it is made through sweat and brains of the inventors, not by luck in birth."

"That is when you met Amon?" Gommu asked.

The lieutenant nodded. "He took what I believed and put it into words. He took my faith and turned it to action, to results. It felt good... Seeing what you believe in, what work you put in, have results. It was hard work, I put muscle and brains and sweat into it, and it..."

The lieutenant stopped. He didn't need to keep going, everyone knew what happened. The lieutenant became choked up.

"But then... Do you know what it is like to be willing to die for someone, only to see them be the very thing you have envisioned in your nightmares?"

"I can't say I do!" Gommu admitted. He chuckled, "But it was so bad for you, you couldn't function for weeks."

The lieutenant said nothing to that. He said, "I came here, and I found something I think."

"Oh? Besides my nickle? It was so nice of you to find my nickle!"

The lieutenant looked to him in disbelief for a moment. He stood up and opened the door, "No! Out there. Here. People working hard. Fire benders making camp fires and cooking meals. Water benders making ice for bruises and healing and purifying drinking water. Earth benders making sure the ground is good for crops and the stone huts are firm. I see benders... But you know what..."

The lieutenant found himself smiling, "I can't bring myself to hate them..."

"Yep yep yep!" Gommu said proudly, "We got ourselves quite a little joint 'round here! Ain't no high birth when you are in the arm pit of civilization!"

The lieutenant chuckled. He couldn't have put it into better words himself. "arm pit of civilization... Looks more like a wart to me."

Gommu laughed.

"Listen..." the lieutenant said, "Thanks for the hospitality. I really did a lot to your people, just as much as others. I don't deserve this."

"Oh! Pishtosh!" Gommu saved it aside, "No one will deny you did some horrible things. But there is a reason not every criminal is sentenced to death or life imprisonment. They can change and make something of themselves."

It was a nice sentiment, the lieutenant thought.

Gommu asked, "Now that you are better, which it does looks like, will you be sticking around?"

"I think I will... I don't feel like leaving quite yet."

"Okie dokie! What will I call you then? and I dont mean your little Equalist rank either!"

The liutenant looked at him dumbly for a moment. Amon had only called him 'lieutenant' for so long. No one had asked for his name since. "Um. Rocade Mobile. Oh, and Mr. Gommu?"

"Aye?"

"I am actually hungry. Now."

Gommu smiled, "That's good!"

* * *

Ethoe climbed out of the hole to find Bolin and Asami standing by waiting on him.

"Well? Where's Aang?" Asami asked.

"Tending to Nel'Andra." Ethoe brushed himself off.

"Good, I hope to get a few licks off myself." Bolin punched his palm.

"Bolin!" Asami gasped.

"What?! He hit my sister-in-law! One good punch is enough for me."

"It is not like that." Ethoe stated. He glanced around and found they were very much alone still. People were keeping their distance from this street for the time being and the programming Ethoe put into Lin had ordered the police away. "Aang should be finishing up recruiting Nel'Andra."

"Right, he is helping us in your fight against Slavian." Asami said.

"Hows he doing that?" Bolin questioned him, "He can't bend right now, and Nel'andra already knocked out a ton. With his fists! He knocks out trucks!"

"Peacefully." Ethoe answered. "Nel'Andra is reasonable."

Bolin motioned to the damage.

"I must admit." Ethoe sighed. "This looks bad, but he is lost in a different time and different language. I have cleared part of it up myself. I ask of you to give him a chance."

Bolin and Asami were silent a moment. They glanced to each other. Asami nodded and said, "Alright, I will."

Ethoe looked to Bolin. Bolin submitted, "Fine... I won't hit him, but I wont be getting too buddy buddy with him either!"

"I am sure he would appreciate that."

"Yeah, you never know what his culture has in store for us." Bolin blinked, "Uh... on that note. Is there anything we should know? Or NOT know?"

"Telling you what not to know defeats the purpose." Ethoe answered. "Why would you ask that?" Asami facepalmed.

"Becau-"

Asami interrupted, "What do we need to know, Ethoe?"

"Well..." Ethoe thought, "Give him a place to bath lest he bathe in the open, respect his privacy on the roof, keep all animals you want kept alive away from him..."

"What? Why?" Bolin asked.

"Cooking is something he often forgets. It would be best if someone cooked everything for him. He eats animals raw."

Bolin gasped then looked like he was going to throw up, then he thought of Popu and became zealous to protect his companion under all costs.

"Understood!" Bolin saluted. He would make sure Popu and Nel'Andra had a very good understanding of not eating each other.

"And most of all..." Ethoe finished, "Never. Ever. Provide him a bed or sheets."

Asami laughed, and stopped short when she saw Ethoe was serious. "You're serious? He has a problem with bed and sheets?"

Ethoe nodded. "Traumatized. Consider it a perk."

"What the hell?" Bolin breathed. He tried, but couldn't restrain a smile. It just... was so rediculas. "Big boy is traumatized of sheets?"

"If you intend to pursue the matter, ask him." Ethoe responded flatly. Ethoe began to leave, and said as he walked, "Also, he has a problem with being ordered around and suffers from nightmares almost every night."

Asami called out, "Wait, so your leaving him with us?"

"No." Ethoe answered. He turned to a corner and stopped before disappearing. "I have matters to attend to. He will be in your care for the first while, but I shall be back in a day or two. Keep a secret that he is from the past, otherwise feel free to explain anything you need about him to questioning authority."

Ethoe clapped his hands together and a symbol of light flew to Bolin. He ducked as it came to him, but it did not fly over him. Instead it fluttered its little corners and sides like it was happy to see them. It as rather cute, for a word.

"Give that to Aang when he comes out!" Ethoe called. He then entered the alley. If anyone had bothered looking into the alley, they would have seen him disappear entirely.

Bolin looked to the word flying around his head and wondered, "Okay... How am I supposed to 'give' this?" He tried to grab it, and the symbol flew through his hand. He then tried holding his hand out like it was a bird, and it hovered in his palm and turned to him.

Asami smirked, "Looks like you made a little friend."

"Yeah! and there was Mako telling me I suck at Grammar classes in high school. Bet he ain't tamed his alphabet!"

* * *

"And then we got your coffin. Actually my son found you in the ocean. Yue was bringing you, and he intercepted. Ethoe then asked me and Korra, the other Avatar, to watch over you while he frees you. After that, you should know." Aang concluded.

Nel'Andra nodded. They were walking in the darkness. Aang couldn't see in the dark, but Nel'Andra seemed to have a natural instinct for darkness. He couldn't see, he denied any form of sight pertaining to the tunnel, but he was used to it. Who better to lead in the dark but a blind man.

"Any questions?" Aang asked.

Nel'Andra shook his head. "No."

"You sure? Your not exactly 'in the loop' of your time period here." Aang pressed.

"I wasn't much 'in the loop' in my own time either. Spending your childhood alone makes you..." Nel'Andra entered the sunlight from the sewer hole. Aang followed him in and released his side. "... rather ignorant of how people are."

Nel'Andra continued walking. Aang said, "We are there, Nel'Andra!" Nel stopped.

Aang looked up at the hole leading out and asked, "How are we going to get out of here? I can't bend."

"How high is the hole?"

"About twenty five feet."

"Too far to jump... how close to the wall?"

"Very."

Nel'Andra nodded and said, "Place me directly below it."

Aang took him and pulled him to be directly under the hole. "Right about... here!"

Nel'Andra reached out with his hands in all directions and made contact with the wall. He placed himself before it and tapped the wall. He said, "Climb on my back."

"What? Why?"

"Do it."

Aang required some assistance, since he was so much shorter than Nel, but he climbed up onto his back none of the less. "Ok, why am I here?" Aang wondered.

Nel'Andra's arms turned black as night. His skin looked like oil and as hard as iron. His fingers began to increase in length just slightly and the ends grew sharp. Nel thrust his fingers into the wall and climbed.

"Oh." was the only response Aang had. "How are you doing that? Is that a bending or magic?"

"I wouldn't know if it was bending or not." Nel responded.

They climbed faster than Aang anticipated and he failed to warn Nel of the ceiling. Nel hit his head and growled loudly for a moment.

"Sorry." aang squeaked. He looked over to the hole. It was directly behind them. He reached out and grabbed the end of it. Aang climbed up. He saw Bolin and Asami waiting on him. He nodded to them as a greeting before he reached down into the hole. Nel grabbed his hand.

Nel was a LOT heavier than Aang anticipated. Aang braced himself and Bolin ran over to help.

Bolin wounded up doing all of the pulling. It wasn't that bad. Once Nel'Andra had a grip on the edge, he hauled himself. His skin returned to being white.

He brushed himself off, and both Bolin and Asami took several steps back to keep their distance. For one thing, he stank. He smelled like he had never bathed in his life. Did people from his time have soap? Did they even know what bathing was?! He was covered in dirt and grime, his long hair was a mess and looked like it was covered in body oil, and his fingernails... Asami didn't even want to think how dirty they were. Or his hands. Or his bare feet. His past life on top of falling into a sewer.

In general he needed a bath.

The second reason was, they were not sure if he was going to turn bonkers on them and attack. He appeared calm and contained for the moment.

Aang paid no notice to their reaction and said, "Nel'Andra."

"Just call me 'Nel'."

"Nel, then. You will be staying with us on the island. Is that fair with you."

Nel nodded.

Bolin freaked. "Wait! Whoa! After what he just did you STILL want him at our place?! Plus, its OURS, not yours. Shouldn't you be asking Korra or Tenzen?"

"It's my home, Bolin."

"Oh right. But still, you think it is wise after how he punched out Korra?!"

Nel turned his head in thought, "Her name was Korra?"

"Yea!"

"Not... Sorla?" Nel asked slowly.

"No? Who is Sorla?" Bolin responded.

Nel frowned. He groaned slowly and said, "I thought she was an old friend. I appear to have made a mistake."

"I would say you have." Asami pitched in. "A large one. You have punched out Avatars, cars, and police today."

Nel frowned harder and groaned. After a long moment he said, "It appears I truly am lost in this world... I will make apologies where they are due to whom it is due them."

Aang smiled. "You were saying Bolin? About him not staying?"

Bolin walked into Nel's face and studied him closely. Bolin shrugged. "Ok fine, If he apologies to Korra and me then he is cool with me."

"Why you?" Nel asked.

"Well, you did hurt my sister-in-law, and best friend. Hitting her is like hitting me."

Nel was silent a long time. Bolin had the impression he was being glared at.

Nel asked harshly, "Did I hurt you directly?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Then forget it." Nel turned and walked off. Aang ran after him, since Nel didn't truly know where he was going.

Bolin groaned to the sky. "This is gonna be a looooong... quest. Adventure. Team. Thing. Whatever it is we are doing under this Ethoe dude." The pet 'symbol' flew out from behind Bolin's head and made a tongue blowing sound at Nel.

"Let's just hope he is going through a phase, and he lightens up." Asami tried. "Otherwise, I must agree. This will be a very long 'thing'."

* * *

The return to the island was a stressful one. Aang was in high spirits, having done his job of bringing Nel'Andra into a peaceful state and recruited him. Bolin and Asami both eyed him every few seconds. Not that they believed he would flat out attack them out of nowhere, but they couldn't help speculating that he might snap and attack them out of nowhere. Nel sat in the boat with his arms crossed, head down, and in silence.

At first he tried attacking the boat when he heard the motor kick off. He thought it was an animal attacking. He knew what a boat was, but the motor boat was another matter.

Along the way, Bolin's little pet symbol flew up to Aang and seemed to study him. Then it chirped happily and flew around excitedly as though it finally knew who he was. It flew into the back of Nel's head and disappeared. Bolin became a little sad at seeing his knew epic pet disappear. It was nothing like Poku, but it was something he had been hoping would buddy up to Poku. Perhaps he could ask Ethoe for one?

Gloating to Mako certainly was not a core reason. *cough*

Aang was unnaware the little guy flew into his head.

As soon as they arrived on the island, Bolin layed the rules down.

"Listen here, buddy. This entirely island is a no-pet-touching zone! Got it! If you see a ferret, you don't touch it. You see a flying thing that looks like a cross between a bull and a flying beaver, you don't touch it! You even see a flying crawling up your nose, you don't swat at it! Ok?"

"Ye." Nel responded.

* * *

Aang and Asami began a grand tour for Nel. Meanwhile, Bolin searched for his brother and Korra to let them know what had happened.

Bolin entered his brother's room to find Korra was laying in their bed unconscious. There was a massive dark bruise on her face and a red thorn sticking in her jaw like an arrow. Mako layed next to her for comfort of them both, but otherwise could do nothing. She was alive and was not in immediate danger, but had yet to wake. She had suffered a massive concussion.

Mako saw his brother enter in and glared at his brother. His eyes demanded Bolin tell him what happened.

Bolin had never seen his brother like this. Mako was always the cool collected kind, not the "hell-bent-on-revenge" guy.

Bolin tried changing the inevitable subject gently, "She any better?"

ok. perhaps not too subtly. Mako's eyes never left Bolin. He said, "She has seen multiple healers. Water benders, medical doctors, surgeons... even an earth bender claiming he could use the nutrients from the earth to do the same as water benders."

Bolin looked down sadly. Wasn't it supposed to be a simple punch to the face? "All that... and nothing worked."

"No." Mako said quickly. Bolin snapped his head up. "That's the thing. It all did."

Bolin looked at Korra's damage face, Mako's worried face, and back again. "What?"

"Every time we managed to heal her. Every time the damage returned."

"Poison?"

Mako shook his head. "Water benders searched for poison. Nothing. Whatever he did, it was special."

Bolin stooped down next to Korra and looked at her closely. She was sound asleep. She didn't appear to be in pain, so that was something.

Mako eyed the flying light lines, and said quietly, "and the bastard?"

Bolin sighed. He said, "Aang got him to cooperate, and we brought him-"

Mako jumped out of bed and ran out the door.

"-here." Bolin finished.

* * *

"This is the dining room." Aang opened the door. Asami led Nel through.

"Lower head." She said. Nel lowered his head. He was very tall and needed to duck in order to not hit himself.

"There is a table in the center of the room, a few chairs, and a fridge in the corner." Aang added. With each object he mentioned, Asami pulled him around and put Nel's hand on each one. "Did your time have any of those?"

Nel nodded. "Tables and chairs were common, albeit by those who could afford them. 'Fridge' is knew to me."

"Ok um..." Aang thought. "It is like a box of coldness. you put food into it and they will go bad later."

"Like rubbing salt?"

Aang looked up to him, "Rubbing salt?"

Asami explained, "Salt rubbed into meat kept it preserved for extended period of times. It was the technique used before refrigerators."

"So I'm right?" Nel asked.

Asami nodded.

Nel released himself from Asami and walked around the room himself. He touched one object. He felt heat coming from it. It had a handle and was smooth. "What is this?"

"It's the fridge."

Didn't they just say it was cold? "Why is it hot?..."

"Cold inside, warm outside." Asami said, "It would take time to explain."

Nel grunted. It was weird and didn't make much sense. Much like a lot of other things.

Nel pushed away from the fridge and clumbered in the darkness. He stubbed his toe into a wooden pole. He growled loudly and fell to grab his foot. "What did I just find?!"

"The table." Asami giggled. Aang held back a laugh successfully. It was rude to laugh at a blind man.

Angered by their laughter, Nel growled, "Let's move on."

The next room was the living room. They showed him the smaller table, the couches, the doors, the hallways, and several cub bards. Nel was cautious and didn't hit himself into anything. He understood the concept behind each piece of furniture. There was nothing particularly special about them. He was amazed by the cough. Rather, he was amazed by their supposed wealth. They had things only the extremely wealthy royalty had to him.

This 'Avatar' thing, he speculated, must be very high up in the hierarchy.

Then was the bathroom. The bathroom was a marvel to him. Apparently, in his time, the toilet was a hole in the ground or a pot. The 'shower' was a river or waterfall or tub of boiled water. Heated water from a faucet was foreign to him. Asami pointed out the soap and handles and curtain and towels.

Asami suggested he try them out immediately. You know, subtly.

"You!" A voice from behind them said. Aang and Asami turned around. It was Mako.

Nel ignored him.

"Mako?" Asami asked worriedly. He looked really angry.

Aang saw trouble and stood in Mako's way. "Man, don't do anything rash."

Mako ignored them both and stomped his way in. He roughly grabbed Nel and turned him around. Nel lowered his head. If he had eyes, they would be glaring at each other now.

"You did something to Korra!" Mako started. "You are going to do something about that."

"hm." Nel thought about it. He recalled the girl he had confused for someone else.

Ah. Yes.

"Your right, I did do something to her." Nel said simply. "Show me."

"Gladly." Mako grabbed him and pulled him out the room quickly. Asami and Aang looked to each other worriedly.

Mako pushed Nel into the room. "Bolin. Out. Now."

Bolin looked between them. Nel crossed his arms and found a wall to lean on. Mako couldn't deicde whether to look at Korra worriedly or glare at Nel.

Bolin nodded. "Right, Bro. Just let me know if you need anything."

"Ye." Was the response.

Bolin passed them to leave, and Mako whispered, "Thanks. Just give us some space."

Bolin shut the door. The room became silent, save for Korra's steady raspy breathes.

Mako broke the silence and said flatly, "She has seen healers. Every time she is healed, the wound returns and grows. It is acting like a poison, yet healers specializing in poison have been unable to do anything. I did not say anything to anyone else, but the wounds have begun to appear in other places besides her face. Her legs and chest have developed deep bruises as well. Whatever you did, it is growing wildly."

"I see that." Nel responded.

Mako raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You aren't blind? Why the mask then?"

"I am blind but I have a sixth sense for anything with a heartbeat." Nel responded. He walked up to Korra and sat down on the ground before her.

"Fair enough." Mako sighed. He had seen a lot of weird things. A guy with a sixth sense for heartbeats was nothing spectacular. Could just be incredible sense of hearing. "Can you fix it?"

Nel tilted his head, "What if I can't?"

Mako set one of his hands on fire and brought it close enough to Nel for him to feel the heat. "I wouldn't suggest that."

Nel was silent for a moment, mulling things over. He said, "Good thing I can, then. But I must ask." Nel raised himself and turned himself to Mako. Mako turned off his fire. "What is she to you?"

"My wife. My love. The one I swore to protect before I even knew I had sworn it. I'd die for her." Mako stressed every sentence to him, as if to prove his conviction and to say 'You better understand my intentions.'

Nel nodded. He caught the point. "I see. I can certainly understand that."

"Good." Mako stepped back.

Nel lowered himself and gave his attention to the girl on the bed. He had first regarded the man as an annoyance. Then he saw him as a very angry man with concern for the girl. Once he knew the man was her husband... well... He understood him. He had once been in the same position. Marriage was an eternal concept, it would appear.

He couldn't hate Mako now, he couldn't even find him remotely annoying. It would be like hating himself. Nel said nothing, but he felt the two of them were very much the same.

Nel just hoped Mako would never find himself in the same position he, Nel, is now in.

Nel placed his hand over Korra's face and wrapped his fingers around the red thorn sticking out of her jaw. He listened to her body. It was dieing. The death was very slow, but it would be nearly impossible to stop if this had gone on another day. He could stop the harm, but she would have to do the rest herself. He explained, "This will take a minute. The damage has spread far."

"Just do it."

Nel focused on doing what needed to be done. He explained further, "I planted a thorn of my blood inside of her jaw when I made physical contact. The damage was immediate, but I confused your wife for someone else, and ordered my blood to do more than just sit there. I ordered my blood to enter her, spread, and attack everything it touches. Your poison-healers were right, yet wrong. It acts like poison but is not. No one knows to look for blood. I am calling my blood back to the source. She will be fine. The damage is not severe yet."

"So..." Mako gulped. "Your a blood bender..." Mako whispered.

"I am not familiar with that term." Nel stated. He pulled the red thorn out of her jaw and inserted it into his mouth. He swallowed. "But I cannot argue with it."

Mako glared at Nel. He hated blood benders. Amon. Blood bender. Tarlokk. Blood Bender. Nel'Andra. Blood Bender. All of them were the only ones to beat Korra. All of them were the only ones who Mako could do nothing against. He could fight any bender, but blood benders? They were freaks of nature. They made Korra, an Avatar, powerless, and in comparison to him, how much more powerless was he?

They were also illegal. So should he arrest Nel? Should he thank him? No! He shouldn't thank him! Nel only did what he was supposed to do to be considered remotely a human being!

Mako looked down to Korra. Despite his own feelings, she would have wanted him to at least be appreciative.

Mako gritted his teeth and said, "Thank you."

Nel didn't respond. Mako felt slapped in the face.

Nel instead said, "It is a good thing I was the one to be here. Anyone else would have had to remove all of her blood in order to get mine out as well."

Mako sputtered angrily, "Wha- What!?"

"Well, how else would one get a few drops of blood out of her? You can't exactly tell which drops exactly are not her own. Esspecially not when mixe-"

Nel stopped. Mako's heartbeat had been irregular all along, but now it was skyrocketing. More than that, his adrenaline was kicking in. His testosterone also kicked into his blood stream. all of it pointed to one thing. Hostility.

Mako threw a punch shrouded in flame, and Nel reacted far faster than he expected. Within an instant he was on the ground with his arm pinned behind his back, and Nel was sitting on him. Mako kicked himself. He had looked at him like he was a bldin man. He had underestimated him. Despite all of the power he has shown so far, Mako still underestimated him because his eyes were covered.

Nel said, "Be thankful I returned, husband of Korra. If your friends did not have such concern for her as to hunt me down and play nice... Well. I have killed hundreds in my time with no weapons and no armor. Many have begged for mercy, few have received any. Be thankful I consider my assault on her a mistake. Otherwise she would now be considered a casuality of war. Thousands die on the battlefield, and guess what? It is not wrong. I would not be blamed. I had no real reason to accept their words, but accept them I did. Even if you are not appreciative of me, little man, you should appreciate them."

Nel released him and walked out. Mako remained on the floor for a little longer, thinking about what he said.

* * *

"I sssee you are making progressss." Koh hissed.

Koh clambered over the branches and curled himself around a tree. Before him sat Ethoe, the ape spirit, and the dragon/skeleton spirit. Their names were Dawne and Valandra, respectively.

Yue also stood nearby, as per their wishes.

"Some." Ethoe admitted. "Nel'Andra's hostile nature and past has complicated things, but it was nothing I could not handle with the Avatar's help."

"Yess. but wass it wisse to assk for him to do it?" Koh mocked. "He hass a knack for meddling, for an Avatar."

"Aang is many things, but meddler is not accurate." Ethoe shook his head. "Avatar Aang was essential. I have a difficult time with showing sympathy and emotion. He is much more of a 'people' person. Without him, I would have only aggravated Nel'Andra or angered him after gaining his full attention."

"Yess. But sstill, I can't helpss but find your choicce in ssongss to be... intersting."

"Your point being?"

"You sshould have been able to know that bringing Alare'ss voicce into there could have had interessting results." Koh smiled evilly.

"I chose to take the risk." Ethoe stated.

"And if you had fai-"

"Enough!" Valandra stomped. "Do you have to pick everything apart! Be silent, worm!"

Koh muttered something and crawled under a bush next to them.

Valandra began to shake in pain, and whimpered. Dawne helped her sit and she became silent, trying to calm.

Ethoe reached out a shrouded hand to her to comfort his mate, but it only passed through her shoulder. He drew it back to himself and reminded himself he had no form.

Dawne gave his attention to Ethoe, "I have seen you have restored Aang's bending."

"A seedling." Ethoe corrected. "Restoring his full potential from the start is beyond me. but with a little work and training on his part, he should be good as new in time."

"Good good."

Yue smiled.

Valandra pulled herself out of her pain and asked, "What is next?"

"This is where Yue comes in." Ethoe stated.

Yue felt their eyes come on her and she snapped to attention.

Ethoe asked, "Did you do as I asked?"

"Yes!" Yue responded. "I looked for the Council beneath the waves. Many I have found, but a few still elude me. Given a day or two more, and I should find them as well."

"Is Boum and Izthark among those you have found?"

"Yes."

"Excellent." Ethoe said gladly.

"Why would you be concerned with them in particular?" Dawne asked.

Ethoe sighed. "Unfortunately, those are the two nearest to being freed at this stage. We have several days, but we should do nothing at the last minute."

"No, certainly not." Dawne agreed. "Especially with those two. Have your team begun to train for battle?"

"No. I will set them down to it, but I am afraid we are still incomplete."

Koh laughed from inside the bush and stuck his head out, "Incomplete?! You have two avatars, a Councilman, yourself, and a few average benders. What more do you need?"

"Well." Ethoe looked to Yue. "I was hoping for the moon as well."

All of their eyes turned to Yue again. She stepped back shyly and said, "You already have 'the moon', sir. I am looking for-"

"That is not what I meant." Ethoe corrected. "Think about it. What better water bender than the moon herself?"

Yue's eyes went big.

"Think you are up to it?" Ethoe asked.

Yue was stunned for a time, but she snapped out of it and tried to hug him. It didn't work, and she stumbled through him.

Dawne sighed, "Just as excitable as that Avatar..."

Yue pulled herself up and said, "Sir, I would relish the chance to help directly."

"Excellent. Ask your partner to take over the search, and go to Republic City. I will be there in time to give you an adolescent form."

Yue didn't hesitate to leave. She disappeared.

"Really..." Koh laughed. "Why do you continually use such young forms?"

Ethoe shrugged. "Whether they know it or not, being a spirit has given them knowledge beyond the limits of mortals. Adolescents have the most fresh minds, capable of containing their knowledge. the form may be fragile, small, weak, and energetic, but it contains information the best. It will come into use."

"Still not enough." Dawne said gravely, "Won't it kill them? Keeping so much inside those heads..."

"Yes." Ethoe said flatly. "The knowledge alone will kill their physical bodies. But these forms will keep them going the longest. A year is plenty of time. What I am more concerned with is Boum and Izthark and Eria. Did you all look into Eria in my absence?"

"I did." Koh said, "She is contained well."

The others agreed. There was nothing amiss.

Ethoe was surprised, "Are you sure? She is the one I would expect to have been freed by now. It is illogical for her containment to be almost unharmed."

"It caught us offguard as well." dawne said, "Her containment is strong."

Ethoe sighed. It was a load off his mind. He still felt like something was wrong, but it was probably just his imagination.

"This leaves Boum and Izthark..." Ethoe sighed sadly.

"You do not believe them ready." Valandra stated.

"No..." Ethoe admitted. "They are not."


	8. Chapter 8 - Hatred

Nel left Korra/Mako's room to let everyone know she would need to rest for a few days. He was, however, unaware of the strength of water benders. The White Lotus set up a firmer guard over her, and had healers by her side at all times in shifts. Their devotion to her was zealous.

Aang stood by and watched them enter her chamber.

Aang felt himself missing them. He had once been in her place. White Lotus and friends around him all the time. First the Air Nomads, then his friends, then his family and White Lotus. He always had someone helping him.

The people around him were nice, and his family and White Lotus were around... but it wasn't the same. They weren't his friends, the White Lotus didn't care about him, and his family didn't know who he was. Once it had all been his...

Thinking about it made his chest hurt. Aang forced himself to turn and walk away.

All in all, she would be better by morning. She would still ache, but it was nothing.

* * *

Tenzin directed his ride to land gently on Airbender island. The bison hovered over the ground and groaned its displeasure at such a slow speed.

"Shush." Tenzin responded. "Gently."

It extended its paws to the ground and followed through with its weight once it had a good grip. The landing was silent, smooth.

Somehow Rohan still woke up. He yelled his little head off for being awoken from his nap. The noise was enough to wake the dead, or the island. Air Acolytes rushed forward to assist them.

Tenzin handed Rohan off to one and turned his attention to helping Pema. She had grown ill. she nudged his hand away gently and lowered herself.

"I may be sick, but I'm not crippled." She said gently. She put her feet on the ground and almost fell to her knees. Tenzin jumped down and rushed to her.

"Will you relax? I just need a shower and sleep."

"And plenty of bedrest, and a healer. Forget the shower please? You can barely stand." Tenzin added.

"Yes on the first, no on the second, and im getting one whether you like it or not..." She walked toward the house slowly. "I dont need to be babied."

"You are clearly ill."

Pema held back a spike of anger and said, "Yes, but I am suffering more from lack of sleep than any sickness. You didn't have to end your vacation just because I was sniffling."

"Rohan was as well, dear. His weak body needs bedrest and a healer just as much as you." Tenzin reminded her. He held the door open for her.

"He's a kid! He should be rolling in mud and eating dirt! It's how they gain such invincible immune systems! Didn't you ever eat worms as a kid?"

Tenzin hesitated, and Pema saw him flinch. She smiled and pressed, "You did didn't you?"

"I-I"

"Ohhh" Pema cooed. "Here I was thinking your brother was the wild one. You've been holding back on me."

They entered the house. They found Jinora, Ikki, Meelo, and Bumi. The three children were sitting around a little table playing cards, and Bumi was walking into a wall. Jinora was clearly winning the game, as she held more than 80% of the cards. She appeared to be studying them. Meelo was nibbling on his cards and getting them stuck together with wet slobber. He had quite a few cards, probably since the others wouldn't bother taking his. Ikki had one card and was feriously deliberating her options, of one, and how to turn the game around. Jinora just waited patiently, and Ikki slammed the card down, lost instantly, and Meelo took Jinora's cards under the pretense of wanting to see. He then slobbered on them all.

Jinora deemed Meelo the winner due to the power of his spit, and he cheered. "Aaaaalll part of me master plan!"

Mako seemed... infuriated. He was sitting on the couch with his arms crossed and didn't notice them enter. There was also a new kid sitting patiently by the side watching. this new kid looked to Tenzin and Pema with large eyes, and jumped up in amazement at something about them. He was bald and something about the way he stared at them looked familier.

Bumi continued walking into his wall.

"In this family..." Tenzin sighed. "Someone has to hold back."

Pema chuckled. "I can't argue with that."

The kids noticed their parents had returned, and they all glomped Pema. Tenzin managed to sidestep their assault.

Tenzin walked over to Bumi and put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "You can stop your antics now. The kids no longer are paying atten-"

Bumi threw Tenzin off of him, turned back to the wall, and walked into it. Bumi was exhausted, sore, looked like a zombie, but never let up walking.

"Bumi!" Tenzin said forcefully. He was about to say something, but forced his energy out in a deep sigh and breathed back in deeply. "Fine! Waste your life with this... insanity."

"It's not his fault." Mako spoke up. "He has been doing that most of the day."

Tenzin facepalmed.

"He was put under a spell by a friend of ours. The friend seems to have neglected stopping the spell."

"What?" Tenzin said. He chuckled. "A spell?"

Mako shrugged. "Just let the guy be. The caster should return sometime soon."

Peno watched Bumi continue walking. "Are you sure he is a friend?"

Mako nodded.

"In that case." Peno said, "I am taking that shower." She walked off down the hall.

Mako watched her leave. "I thought you two were on vacation."

"We were." Tenzin sat down and leaned back on the couch. "But... Sickness calls. So I had to call it short."

Mako nodded. "Ok. OH!" Mako started. "That reminds me, you should be expecting guests."

Tenzin raised an eyebrow and looked to Bumi and the staring kid on the other side of the room. "More?"

"Yes. This 'caster' is named Ethoe, about the same age as... him." Mako pointed to Aang, without naming him. "He has a far far... FAR older friend named Nel'Andra Thosiline. Nel apparently will be living on the roof as well."

"The... roof?" Tenzin asked to be sure.

"Don't..." Mako shook his head. "Just don't ask. I don't know, and I don't think I want to. Nel has enough...** uniqueness** as it is."

Tenzin blinked and groaned in defeat. "Alright! Thank you... as though four kids isn't enough... Now I have to deal with six and a weird one."

"Make that seven." A voice said behind them.

Tenzin jumped in surprise to find two kids behind him. One had very dark eyes, almost peering into his soul. the other was a girl actually, and had white hair.

Mako waved, "Your back, Ethoe? who is she?"

The girl said, "Yue." Ethoe snapped his hand in front of her mouth, but not fast enough.

"You weren't supposed to say that..." Ethoe said flatly.

"Yue!?" Aang ran to her. "What are you doing here?"

"Apparently Ethoe still thinks you need help."

Aang looked to Ethoe. "How many more do you think you need on top of an Avatar of all things?!"

"This will suffice." Ethoe stated. "I wish the training to begin as soon as everyone is here."

Ethoe looked around. "By the way, where is Ethoe?"

Mako spoke up, "He is taking a..." His eyes grew wide and he straightened up. "Uh-oh." He said.

* * *

Bolin stood in front of the door with his arms crossed. The closed bathroom door had a solid beam of light coming from under it illuminating the dark room. The sound of a faucet running and water hitting the floor came to him.

"Good! You got it!" Bolin called in. "Is it hot?"

"No." was the answer.

"Ok..." Bolin visualized the shower in his head. "There should be a knob directly next to the one you found, to the right. Turn that one and it will be hot."

"hn."

Bolin waited a moment. "You got it man?"

"mhmm."

"Great! There are some towels on the sink and I will go to bring you some spare clothes. What size are you?" Bolin inquired.

"Size?"

"Yeah, you know... Dimensions of your build." Bolin explained.

"Guess, I don't know."

Just what was the dimensions of Nel? Bolin couldn't think of any clothes that might besides XL. He was firm but not muscular, and mostly tall. Very tall. Bolin could guess.

"Alright, I will be back in a bit with some."

"Yea." Nel responded shortly.

Bolin walked away to find Pema coming in. He said, "Hey! Mrs. P! Why you back so early?"

she turned on the light and said, "A combination of headcold and paranoia."

"What?"

She shook her head. "Don't ask." She opened her closet and pulled out a nightgown. "I just need to relax and be alone."

"Right!" Bolin nodded. "Got it." He slowly backed out of the room. "I won't be a bother! I won't-"

"If your gonna go just go." She shooed him out jokingly.

"Good night!" Bolin called. He turned around and felt he missed something.

Right! He needed to get some clothes for Nel. Bolin walked down the hall.

He froze and turned around in horror. A moment later...

"AAAAGH! WHO ARE YOU!?" A voice shrilled.

* * *

Mako glared at him. Pema glared at him. Tenzin glared at him. Korra was still bad off. Bolin avoided the room, as well as Asami. Aang and Yue were stuck eating with the kids. Too many children for the main table, and their identities were intact. The only child who insisted on being around, was Ethoe. He had his head on the table.

He was very much exasperated.

"Congratulations." Ethoe groaned. "You have managed to piss off a politician, the head of security, and knocked out an avatar in a single day. I didn't think you would manage that for another two days."

Nel was indifferent. He stuffed his mouth full.

"I know you have a problem with authority..." Ethoe continued, "But this? Do you enjoy making people hate you?"

"It tends to happen without my input." Nel said simply. He shoveled a spoonful into his mouth.

"You attacked Korra!" Mako reminded him.

"You went on a rampage in the middle of Republic City and held Beifong hostage." Tenzin added. He had been debriefed.

"You hid in my shower..." Pema included.

"AND you hid in our shower!" Tenzin repeated.

Nel did not respond, rather, he swallowed and pushed his empty plate. "Is there more?" He asked.

* * *

Yue watched Aang spend time with his grandkids. They were not wise to who he was in reality, but that didn't seem to lessen the experience for him. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it more than expected. There is something special about being on the same level as someone, rather than over them. Being a kid had its perks.

Shortly thereafter, it was time for bed. Aang appeared upset by something and chose to seclude himself, and Yue asked, "What is wrong?"

Aang shook his head and put on a fake grin, "Nothin, lets get some sleep. I have a feel we are going to be busy soon."

Yue nodded and chose not to pry. Due to being children, Ethoe, Aang, and herself had to share room with Tenzin's children. The children loved it. Ethoe sat in the corner cross legged, and became immovable as a statue for the night. One of the kids, the boy, clambered over and tried to wake him up with imaginative ways, including gnawing on his head. Ethoe did not open his eyes nor react. It was a sight to behold. The rest of them took to shooting spit-wads at him as they sat around and talked on their beds.

Aang talked with the kids as much as he could during the night, trying to get as many stories of their life as he could out of them, but the kids fell asleep too soon for his liking and he became depressed. Yue tried again to ask what was wrong, and Aang turned to the wall.

Yue layed down under the window so she looked straight up to the moon. It was eery looking at herself, yet oddly comforting.

A figure appeared in the moonlight. Yue froze. The person came right up to the window and peered in. Yue slowed her breathing and slowly turned her eyes to Ethoe and Aang.

What a time for the two of them to be asleep!

Yue turned her eyes back to the man in the window. She didn't see his shadowed face, but his hair was long and beautiful. He actually looked handso-

He put his feet in the window and climbed up. Yue stopped her breathing entirely and formed a layer of hard ice around her hand under the covers. Her eyes never left his head, and he faced her.

The man straightened up and climbed up onto the roof, using the window ledge as a step. When he disappeared from sight, Yue let her breathe out and back in. She shoved the covers away and jumped to the floor. She froze and listened.

The man was crawling on the roof.

She lowered herself and clambered over to Aang and Ethoe. She grabbed them and nudged them. No reaction was given, so she pushed hard.

Aang groaned sleepily, "Whatta want?..."

"There is someone breaking into the house?"  
She corrected herself, "Ok! Not actually IN the house, rather on, but still!"

"That's nice..." Aang curled up and turned around.

"Hey!" She nudged him.

He responded with a snore.

_AAAARGH! Men..._, she thought.

She climbed up to Ethoe and her first instinct was to whistle into his ear, but she needed to be quiet. The man on the roof had stopped moving, and thereby making noise. She had lost track now of where he was if he was still moving.

She smacked Ethoe quietly. A giant red mark appeared on his face, with white dots all over him from stuck pieces of wet paper.

She pulled his ear sharply. His body stayed rigid, but tilted over and fell on his side, still in a cross legged position.

_That looks really uncomfortable..._ She kicked herself. _He is gonna hate me in the morning._

Yue didn't want to resort to Tenzin's children... and she couldn't yell for help. She had to deal with the intruder.

How could could it be for the moon to handle one man?

Yue peered out and looked around. He was not in sight. She wrapped both of her hands in hard ice, like a pair of clubs, and pulled water out of the air around her.

Yue jumped onto the roof with the water and landed firmly on her feet. She snapped into a fighting stance and kept the water hovering around her, just in case.

Nel was laying on the roof, his face up.

She dropped her water, her adrenaline, and her jaw in that order. "Nel?!" She whispered sharply.

Nel turned his head to face her. His face was wrapped around the eyes. His clothes were also reasonably modern. A simple black T-shirt, a loose jacket, and blue jeans. His feet were bare. "Yes?" He asked.

"Tha- that was you!?"

"Who?"

"The one climbing up the window!"

"Yes?" He asked slowly. "Why?"

"I thought he was an intruder!"

"Ah." He said simply. He returned to facing the stars. His hands beneath his head.

Yue stomped over to him and slapped him. He flinched and breathed, "What was that for?"

"You scared me half to death!" Yue hissed. Tears were in her eyes, and she was shaking from adrenaline. "Don't you know you shouldn't crawl into children's windows at night! What is wrong with you!"

Nel became pissed and barked, "Clearly a lot!"

"That much is evident!"

Nel sighed deeply and said firmly, "Is it my fault you people are weak and so different! Is it my fault I am tortured, blinded, and-"

"What?" Yue asked. All of her anger left her all at once, leaving only shame. She grew white as a sheet.

"beaten to death, only to wake up in a land where apparently your wagons move themselves! Where your police jump out of flying birds and where pits appear spontaneously! I made mistakes, ok! but how am I supposed to know this land doesn't force woman and men to bathe together!"

"What?" Yue asked. "Woman and men bathe together? What you mean?"

Nel sighed and threw himself back down. "... in my land, we bathe in rivers. It is out in the open, and with war just around the hill at all times, it is required everyone bathes in shifts while watched by soldiers. Often many of those bathing will be people of all kinds. It is natural. The young and old and woman must be protected in their most vulnerable moments..."

"Ah..." Yue said. She sat down. It was all she could say really. Too many emotions were running through her. She was still shaking violently from the adrenaline.

A piece of cloth fell onto her, and she looked up to see Nel and put his jacket on her.

"Your shaking." He explained. "Adrenaline will pass, coldness will not."

"Ah." She said. _Idiot! What kind of response is that?! __He is being nice here, and that's my thanks?_

Yue turned away and sat in silence. Nel layed down with his face toward the moon. His face was devoid of expression.

After a time, her shaking ended, but she did not offer to return the jacket, and he never asked.

Voices appeared just beneath them. Whoever it was speaking was just outside.

"Hey! You catch a sight of the brat?" The first man asked.

"Which?" His counter part, a second man, asked.

"The big one."

"Aw, yes! An ill-tempered man, that one."

"Yeah. It takes balls to piss off the most powerful people in Republic City. I wouldn't be surprised if he is aiming his sights of the Republic of Nations next!"

They laughed. The second man added, "IF he doesn't get thrown out of Republic City and exiled first. At this rate, that should be..." He coughed. "A week!"

They laughed and continued to walk until they disappeared.

Yue jumped up and whispered, "Jerks! They just gossip and are hurtful without regard as to if they are heard or not!"

"Its not just them." Nel said.

She turned to him.

Nel sighed and explained, "I see blood. The lips are filled with blood more than most parts of the face but the tongue. I am trained to read lips, no matter how far you are, and no matter what way you are facing, and regardless of what is in the way. Almost everyone on the island is talking about me in one form or another. Mostly negative and hateful."

"That's horrible! They don't know a thing an-"

"You were doing the same just a minute ago." Nel said flatly.

Yue froze. That's right, she had just been on him. She wasn't gossiping, but she was still being hateful. She turned her face down in shame and wasn't sure what to say.

Nel released another sigh and said, "Forget it. I'm used to it."

"No, its not right. that isn't something you should be used to!" She snapped.

Nel shrugged. "Being hated is the only thing I have lived around. I wouldn't know what to do with someone who actually cared." She looked up, her eyes wide.

Nel explained, "I was made what I am by Slavian. All my power given by him. He came to hate me after I walked away and refused to use it, for I had turned on him. His enemies hated me just as much, for to them, I was his creation. They hated me just as much as him. I now hate Slavian, for he took my life away."

Nel yawned, "My life is surrounded by nothing but hatred and pain. Do not think I am not used to-"

Yue slapped him.

Nel stopped talking. Yue barked, "So?! Just because a lot of people hate you for wrong reasons, you think it good to be hated!? You think just because some evil guy hates you, that makes it right to return it! There is more to life than hatred!"

"Like what?" Nel returned flatly. "Have you had your loved ones taken from you by force? Have you been alone your entire life surrounded in darkness, left only at the bidding one a single voice that spends its free time breaking you?"

"No." Yue argued. "I spent my life bound to rules that choked me, alone my entire life expected to be perfect in every way and not allowed to show a single piece of myself, and about had my life ruined by being married off to some bastard who liked his hair cut more than me, all by father. I don't claim it to be as bad as your case, but just as I don't hate my father, you shouldn't **hate** your master."

"Then what would you suggest?" Nel asked smuggly.

"Fight Slavian because it is what he deserves. Not for your own satisfaction."

Nel scoffed. "You and that Avatar kid sound the same."

"The right often do." She responded firmly.

Nel frowned.

The moment passed by quickly. Yue sat down after having said her piece. She said gently, "Did this torture scar you?"

Nel laughed quietly. "More than you can imagine. I doubt I have any real skin left."

"Perhaps a step toward moving on, going past the pure hatred, is to heal it." Yue smiled.

"Scars cannot be healed." Nel argued.

"You have clearly never met a strong water bender than."

Nel paused and considered the idea. Yue waited patiently for him to say something, as the next move was on him.

"You know someone like that?" He asked quietly.

Yue smiled.


	9. Chapter 9 - A Day of Preperation

Rocade Mobile leaned against the pillar, isolated, and observed the group. The morning air brought with it renewed energy in the community. Light beamed down through slits in the ceiling. Cars roared overhead and flashed across the panels in the ceiling.

Mobile payed special attention to the 'Benders'. The water benders pulled water from the pipes and cleaned it of impurity that would otherwise make you ill. They also healed a few who were sick. Sickness is common in the undercity, but lately a plague seemed to have appeared in force.

"According to the news 'round here, the surroundin' gangs are being hit worse than our loveable selves." Gommu remarked.

Mobile looked to him and asked, "They have healers?"

Gommu shrugged, "Not many benders willing to associate with gangs were left after the Equalists took over. The Divine Oblivion are suffering most of all, despite them having healers. It seems they haven't been able to stop it, only slow the sickness down."

"Is it spreading fast?" Mobile asked worriedly.

Gommu laughed. It was odd to see him laughing in a conversation of misery. "Young man, no one knows how fast the plague spread. It hit everyone instantly. The entire under-city is sick. Save for the Eternal Hand."

Mobile blinked in surprise.

Gommu continued, "We be thinking that perhaps they have a cure, but they aren't willing to share. In fact they are being unusually silent."

"hm."

Mobile considered this. Usually when a gang went silent, it was for a reason. They either were destroyed or preparing for an all out war. Plus now was the perfect opportunity for an assault. If the Eternal Hand's opposition were weak from sickness, it would be an easy thing for them to clean up.

Not that he cared. What did he know about the Eternal Hand? Nothing. Had they ever done anything to him? No. All he knew was that they were a very new gang who were proving to be competing with the big boys on even standing. Even the police were having a difficult time with them.

"With this sickness," Gommu mused, "is the opportunity for blood. The best time to beat a man is when he is down. The Eternal Hand will undoubtedly take advantage of this."

It sounded like he was working up to something.

"Yes?" Mobile asked.

"How would you like to go meet some people?" Gommu smiled.

* * *

The day began relatively smoothly, Ethoe reflected.

Everyone was assembled. Aang, Bolin, Mako, Nel'Andra, Yue, and even Korra. Korra was sore and weak, but present. Even Asami was present. She wasn't a bender, but Ethoe found her mind a good resource.

The day had begun with Nel'Andra being in high spirits, an odd thing for him. Korra walked around a corner into him, and he kissed her. She panicked and fell back. Mako panicked and freaked out. Everyone else just gaped.

Ethoe needed to sit him down and explain that kissing someone on the cheek is not a form of apology around here, nor greeting. Since then, they more or less kept their distance from him. Korra kept glancing at Nel'Andra. Her worry was understandable, he had knocked her out one moment and kissed her the next. To her, he was probably insane.

They assembled on an isolated part of the island. Ethoe began, "I know you all have been training in your time, but starting now you need to take it to the next level. Your mentality has always been based on this sport in a bending arena, and your bending style has reflected it."

Ethoe walked back and forth. "Your bending is fast, accurate, and efficient in stamina cost, but lack power. To be able to deal with the Council of Dozen, you have to work on your raw power in your bending and refinement, as well as utility and adaptability in combat."

"We do know how to adapt on the fly." Korra let him know.

"Perhaps, but not against anything on this scale. The first two we will fight is Boum and Izthark."

Nel'Andra gasped and grew pale. Everyone looked to him.

"Nel?" Yue asked worriedly.

Ethoe said, "Those two are considered amongst the strongest in their time. Nel'Andra knows of their power personally."

Nel'Andra scoffed. "'Strongest' doesn't come close. We cannot kill them."

"And" Ethoe continued. "They need to be contained, not killed. I am going to place them back in stasis, and they need to be held in an isolated space for a few minutes for my work to be successful."

Bolin studied Nel'Andra's reactions worriedly and asked, "Just how strong are these dudes?"

"Nel, I am sure you can answer that." Ethoe suggested.

Nel sighed and shuddered in memory. "Boum... weighs twenty five tons, and carries a ten ton spear."

"Fat dude then?" Bolin asked.

"No, just big."

"Still!" Korra inserted, "Thats heavy! If any of us get hit, it wouldn't leave much behind."

"The spear isn't what you should be worrying about." Nel argued. "It's the wind."

Aang asked, "Wind spear?"

"Not exactly. He swings it so fast, and it is so sharp, that the wind coming off of it is just as lethal. I've seen him create earthquakes, cut mountains, and cleave clouds. Even if the wind does not cut you, the force behind his swing still shakes the earth beneath him, and you float into the air as though gravity is gone."

Their eyes grew big.

"Izthark, is almost as lethal." Nel'Andra continued, "Boum is slow and easy to fool, but The Hunter is not. His blade is longer than his body, three meters long, and it can cut the hardest metal. He is so fast, he disappears before your very eyes."

"And you want us to fight them!?" Bolin gasped. He turned to Ethoe.

Ethoe motioned to Nel'Andra. "That is why he is here. He has fought them both and lived to tell about it."

Korra put her hands on her hips, "Not to sound like an ass here, but your expecting the Avatars, the most powerful benders there are, to _need_ someone like him? As though he is going to do all the work? Aren't we stronger than him?"

Ethoe sighed. "All of your input will be invaluable, but do not question this. They both know Nel by sight, they will focus their attention on him. He can handle them for a time, and they will underestimate the rest of you. These are people from a time before bending existed."

Korra and Aang nodded.

Ethoe smiled reassuringly, "If anyone has the advantage, its you. This era is your home turf. If you grow, you will be able to compete with them, together. Nel is primarily the decoy. He is the one they will focus on. The rest of you will make sure the work is done."

They grew silent, but Ethoe saw in their eyes that they were not doubting themselves. They knew they could do this, they just needed to prepare.

He hoped their mindset wouldn't be crushed when they saw the reality of the Councilman.

"Alright!" Ethoe called out. "Come, each of you show me your best moves."

Bolin was the first to raise his hand. "Ok, you first." Ethoe nodded.

Mako pushed his brother forward and the rest cheered him on. They sat down to watch. Nel sat down by a tree and listened.

Bolin gave himself some space and popped his knuckles. "I call this, the Fist!"

He smashed his fists into the ground.

"Wwwooooow." Mako teased. "That's impressive."

"Shut up, I'm not done yet!" Bolin responded.

He showed visible effort and grunted. He slowly lifted his fists out of the ground.

Following his fists were two boulders directly beside him. One on the left, and one on the right. The boulders were shaped as fists themselves. Bolin walked around, and the boulders followed him. He threw punches, and the boulders responded in kind. The boulders were perfect replicas of his hands, and followed his movements. He shielded his face with his forearms, and the boulders came together in front of him as a shield.

"Ok," Aang whistled, "That _is_ impressive."

"Imaginative." Ethoe agreed.

"Go Bolin!" Korra cheered.

Bolin, encouraged by the cheering, began to show off by throwing his boulder fists around.

"Anything else?" Ethoe asked.

"Uh..." Bolin stopped. "Just basic stuff. you know, creating pillars, throwing rocks."

Ethoe nodded. "Very well. Who is next?"

Mako stood up without being called. "Lets see if I can top that." He chided.

Bolin rolled his eyes and stepped aside.

Mako readied himself and stomped the ground. He thrust out, and a cloud of flame flew out. The flame was large and explosive.

"You've been practicing!" Korra cheered.

Bolin stuck out his tongue. He mocked, "That's nothing new!"

"Perhaps not, but watch this." Mako responded.

He brought his hands a foot apart, palms facing each other. Lightning suddenly flashed from one palm to the other. instead of electrocuting himself, the lightning bounced back. A second time it turned around, a third, a fourth. Repeatedly the lightning bolt bounced between his palms, each time becoming faster and faster. By nature, lightning proved to be impossible to track, and it looked as though he had a spark of light between his hands indefinitely.

Mako brought his hands closer together, and the area the lightning traveled shortened as well. He shorted it down to a ball, and then moved his hands forward with palms out.

The lightning released itself in all directions in front of him, and a shock wave rippled out through the air.

Bolin gaped. Mako walked by him and teased, "Top that."

"Korra." Ethoe volunteered.

Korra walked forward shyly, and to be honest, she didn't have anything interesting to show. It was regular techniques. Not sure why she didn't make the effort to come up with anything interesting like the others, perhaps too busy trying to grasp air bending.

Then came Aang's turn. He responded that he has no bending nervously.

"Yes, you can..." Ethoe groaned.

"Clearly, Aang hasn't figured it out, yet." Ethoe thought.

Yue went after Aang, and she proved to be what Ethoe wanted. She created a number of large pillars of water to fly out of the ocean and then she encased her body in ice that was moved easily yet hard as steel. She also claimed she was a strong healer and if she wanted to, could Blood Bend.

The idea of her blood bending sent chills down their backs, and Aang was a little hurt.

"She is the moon after all." Ethoe reminded them. "What you call blood bending comes from the moon."

All in all, she was stronger than the avatars in terms of a single element, but she was limited to one element all the same.

Korra asked, "Is that what you meant by power, Ethoe?"

Ethoe nodded. "You and Aang should be able to perform moves almost as strong yourselves."

After Yue was Nel'Andra. He had not seen anything that had happened.

"I'm not a bender." Nel'Andra called out. "I am going to go train myself."

Ethoe shook his head as Nel walked off.

Ethoe said, "Everyone. Nel's source of his power is indeed, bending, but it is a very unusual one. It is probably best to explain it sooner than later... Do you recall Slavian is the first bender?"

No one denied it.

"Well, Nel'Andra was born into an experiment to create a new kind of bending. At the time it wasn't called that, but the concept is similar. Nel is the first artificial bender, and the only 'Self-Bender' there is."

"Self-Bender?" Korra asked. Aang stepped forward and seemed curious.

"I've never heard of it." Aang replied. "Not even in the spirit world."

"As said, he is the only one." Ethoe answered. "To know what a self-bender is, is to know him, and to know him is to know Slavian. We did not want anyone knowing of Slavian. You remember?"

"Oh, yes."

"Good."

Korra continued, "Yes, but what is a self-bender?"

Ethoe thought a moment, "What does a blood bender bend?"

"Blood"

"Yes, but whose blood?"

"other peo-" Korra paused. "Wait! Are you saying he is a blood bender!?" Korra hollered.

Aang gasped, "What?!"

Aang did not approve of having blood benders in the group, Yue was one thing, this guy was another. Bolin's eyes grew wide. Mako did not seem surprised at all, he just scowled.

"Why didn't you tell me before he was a blood bender!" Aang demanded.

"Because he can only bend himself!" Ethoe raised his voice. The avatars shut themselves. "You make it illegal for anyone to blood bend other people, and that is your right in this world as people of authority, but you must understand the only one he can harm through the power directly is himself! He is a capable fighter, but he will not be bending anyone else!"

"Bit late for that." Mako retorted.

Everyone looked to him.

Mako continued, "When he hit Korra, he left some of his blood in her. He then 'ordered' his blood to attack her from the inside like a poison."

Aang closed his eyes and breathed in and out slowly. Asami said in surprise, "What?"

Ethoe responded quickly, "That was in the past, he is an ally!"

"Aren't you guys being awfully hard on him?" Yue asked.

Bolin raised his hands, he was gonna stay out of this.

Ethoe looked to the Avatars and said, "Nel'Andra is a self-blood-bender, as you put it, but that does not make him a criminal. He was born with this power before you were ever born to make it illegal! Do not refuse his assistance! If we are going to contain Slavian, he is the key to it! Even I do not know Slavian the way he does!"

The two avatars glanced to each other a moment. Korra shrugged and said, "As long as he doesn't hit me again."

"Korra!" Mako was startled.

"Mako!" Korra returned. "I'm the one he attacked, so it's my right to forgive. Also, I'm the Avatar. This is beyond petty vices and worldly laws."

Ethoe nodded in approval. "Thank you, Avatar Korra."

Aang took a little longer to think it over. It was in his nature to see the bright side of people, to look for the good. But blood benders were a whole different thing to him. He despised that side of bending down to his very core. It felt sick and twisted. Like the mind of a mass murderer or psychopath.

"Fine." Aang said at last. "But I will still hold him accountable if he blood bends anyone."

"That will be impossible." Ethoe smiled. "I appreciate it."

Mako walked into the house infuriated.

Asami wasn't a bender, and so she didn't have to come forward, but she offered the resources at her disposal.

* * *

Nel found a secluded part of the beach and practiced his forms. He punched and kicked and weaved around. He put snap into his punches, emphasis in his kicks, and kept his movements sharp and precise. He had been asleep for almost a million years, after so long he found his body was still amazingly flexible. A few kinks needed to be worked out, but nothing he couldn't work through.

He leaped through the air and brought his knee down on the ground. The sand absorbed the impact easily despite how much force he was putting into it. He needed to be faster, stronger. With practiced ease, Nel'Andra pumped up his heart, drew out his adrenaline, collected blood into his limbs and made his muscles wake up. He hardened blood between the layers of his skin, and felt it harden in turn.

The speed of his blows increased ten fold. He stood there for a time punching the air as fast as he could. One minute, two minutes, five, fifteen. His body refused to become tired and the air popped with each blow.

"Whoa, I can't even see it!" Yue said.

Nel stopped an asked, "See what?"

"Your hands. You were moving them so rapidly, they were blurs."

"Ah."

Nel'Andra returned to punching the air and practicing forms.

"You seem worried." Yue remarked.

"hn."

"What are you worried about?"

Nel stopped and felt himself sweating. How long was that, eighteen minutes? He should have been able to draw on his power and have the stamina to keep punching like that for a good hour. So... he was weaker than he was a million years before. This did not bode well.

"Failure." Nel responded.

Yue raised an eyebrow, "These two councilman?"

Nel nodded. "I still remember the battle. I was with Nel'Al Carin and Kure'Gane. I was a Councilman just like the rest of them, but there are some Councilman who are in a whole league of their own in power."

"Which were you in?"

"Probably the lowest. Boum is amongst the highest, but I never actually fought Boum. Boum was standing on a ship down the harbor, and he is so large, you can still see him clearly. He swung his spear, and the wind coming off of it caused a tidal wave over the port."

"I can do that too." Yue said. Nel smirked, she refused to be pessimistic.

"Yes, but then following the tidal wave, the wind smashed into the village and cut quite a few houses in half. In one swing, he decimated the common resistance."

Yue glared at him. "Are you purposefully trying to get us to expect defeat before we even try?"

"No, but-"

"I dont want to fight him thinking 'I'm gonna die!' the entire time. Be positive!"

Nel sighed. "How can I? I know them. You don't."

"Perhaps, but you don't know the avatars. I do. Don't underestimate them."

Nel didn't say anything to this. He wasn't sure what to say. He would fight regardless. Whether it was being pessimistic or not, he always did his best. Either way it didn't matter. He would have to see when the time came.

He returned to doing his forms. His body had recovered in the last few minutes.

Yue felt the moment become a little awkward, he didn't seem up to talking. She clapped her hands nervously and asked, "Mind if I practice over here?"

"Go ahead." He said. His body became black and his hands disappeared in the speed of his punches.

Some time later, Ethoe called Yue. Yue ran over to him and he asked, "You said you were a capable healer, right?"

Yue nodded.

"Do you think you can heal old wounds or broken bones?"

"Uh." Yue started. "Yea, but to be honest I never put it into practice. I have been in the spirit world since I gained my bending. You have something you need healed?"

"Yes, Nel'Andra."

* * *

Ethoe entered the out cropping and found the two avatars were there already.

"Thank you for waiting." He said. "I needed to check with Yue."

"What about?" Korra asked curiously.

"See whether or not she can heal Nel'Andra. His body is damaged."

"He looked good to me." Aang remarked. "Past the eyes."

"Considering how he should be dead, he is beautiful." Ethoe agreed. "But his bones are broken in hundreds of places. If she can heal his bones, he will be able to perform better. Also having his eyes back would be a good thing."

"I guess." Korra remarked neutrally. She had agreed to accept him, but it would be a while before she could **accept** him.

"But I asked for you to come to work on your training as Avatars."

Ethoe sat himself down before them, and they sat themselves down as well before him.

"I want you to throw away everything you know about bending the four elements." Ethoe began. "It will only hinder you at this point."

Aang frowned. Korra bit her lip. She had only just begun to become any good at wind bending, and now she had to throw it away... just her luck.

"What do you know of energy bending?" Ethoe started.

Aang snapped his hand up. "OH OH OH OH OH OH OH! ME ME! ME! MEEEE!"

"Yes?"

"Energy bending is the source of all bending, and is the bending to predate elemental bending. Elemental bending is the physical affect of energy bending. Since people learn from their senses, and cannot see energy bending, but rather its physical affects, they came to forget energy bending and believed elemental bending was the true bending." Aang stated, as though he was reciting something from class. "It can be used to remove bending or return it to anyone who could already bend at some point."

That was a lot of bending. She said to Ethoe, "I was beginning my lessons into energy bending from Aang while you both were still in the spirit world. I really cannot have much to offer here."

Ethoe nodded and said, "Avatar Aang is correct. Energy bending did predate bending as you know it. In the Aeterna's time, he was the only true bender, and he was a master of energy bending. Energy bending allows access to its many branches, fire, water, lightning, earth, metal, wind, sound, self, mind, shadow, void, water and ice, light, radiation, the bending of others, and several other branches not worth mentioning."

"Whoooooaaa!" Aang's jaw dropped.

Korra was astonished, "I haven't even heard of many of those!"

"There is such thing as sound bending?!" Aang asked excitedly.

"Yes." Ethoe replied.

"That is so cool! I can broadcast my voice across the entire city! Can you imagine the possibilities!" Aang actually started to count ideas off of his fingers. He added his toes when he went past ten ideas on how to use sound bending.

"Sure beats sending messengers across the island." Korra agreed.

Aang nodded and added that idea to his own collection, but he didn't have twenty one toes and fingers.

"Korra!" Aang cried out, "Count for me! I need your toes!"

Ethoe drew their attention by coughing and said, "Learning to master a whole new branch would take time, especially with you two having nothing to base it on. We do not have it right now. Instead, today, Avatar Korra, please focus on putting as much power and punch behind your techniques as possible. That will be your training. I will not directly teach you anything, yet. Keep it plain and simple. In time, I will teach you different branches and require you to combine them."

Korra nodded resolutely. "I can do that!"

"Go ahead, then. I will work with Aang for a time."

Korra rose and left to train where she wouldn't hurt anyone. In the distance, they saw giant plumes of fire, great pillars of earth, huge gusts of wind, and a lot of water.

"Bigger!" Ethoe called out.

"How much bigger?" She answered.

"As large as you can manage! Put everything you have into each blow!"

The techniques became substantially larger and fiercer. The ground shook slightly. Ethoe sighed, "Still not large enough, but it will do."

"How much bigger are you hoping for?" Aang asked.

"A single fireball from you or her should be able to encompass this island whole."

"That's big."

* * *

"Why am I naked?" Aang asked. "And laying here?"

He felt his back tingle and prickle as needles entered him. The sun was nice on his back, but he was worried someone might come across him. Ethoe did not answer him.

"Can I at least be inside or something?" Aang tried.

"No." Ethoe replied simply. He inserted another needle into his back.

Aang groaned and banged his head into the floor. His only appeasement was how they were hidden by bushes and rocks. His island had a lot of places to isolate yourself and be hidden. He recalled how he had loved them because of that, made it easy to meditate here.

"Ow!" Aang yelled. A needle missed the mark.

"Stop moving." Ethoe commanded. He adjusted the needle.

The shadow spirit stood up and closed the case of needles, "There, done."

"Can I get up now?"

"No. Stay here until the sun is no longer on you. I will instruct a servant to bring you anything you require."

"What?!" Aang tried to turn his head to see him. "I dont need someone seeing me!"

"You would rather eat nothing for the next several hours?"

"Yes!" Aang answered resolutely.

"Too bad, I need your energy flowing smoothly."

Aang groaned and grew embarrassed at the very thought that people would be walking in on him naked and covered in needles.

Ethoe sat down by Aang's head and asked softly, "Avatar Aang, do you truly believe you cannot bend?"

"Of course! You never gave me bending when you gave me... this." Aang poked himself. "I couldn't water bend over the ocean, I can't fly, and even after you said I could today, I still cannot feel movement through the earth."

"Which is why we are doing this."

"What?"

"A mechanism of mine should have placed the seed of bending back in you. It hadn't grown enough yet, clearly, for you to notice or use it. The needles, this sun, the lack of clothing. It is all supposed to make you comfortable and have your energy flowing smoothly. The seed will grow faster this way. Hopefully you will be able to bend again by the time we have to face off with the two Councilman in two days."

Aang blinked. He didn't understand what he meant by seed, but it sounded like the end result would be him having his bending back if he was comfortable. If it was for the cause of getting his bending back, he would lay under the sun with needles in his back all day and night!

"One thing wrong." Aang answered.

"Hm?"

"I am uncomfortable when I am naked. can I at least have some shorts?"

Ethoe groaned. True, he needed to make the Avatar comfortable. "Very well."

* * *

Yue lead Nel'Andra to a chair by the table and told him to sit. He sat. The servants around looked in wonder to see a little girl commanding a big man.

Asami followed and asked, "Anything I can help with?"

"Sure!" yue said gratefully. "As soon as I can think of something, I will let you know."

"Ok." Asami pulled up a chair. "What are we doing?"

"We are going to see if I can fix his eyes." Yue answered. "Should help later on."

"Will I have them back by the time I have to deal with Boum and Izthark?"

Yue shrugged, "Lets find out."

She reached up to his face to remove the cloth, but with her small size she found it difficult. She stood on her toes and couldn't reach behind him.

Nel pushed her back down gently and said, "I'll do it."

He reached behind himself and unwrapped the knot. He removed the cloth from his face.

Yue threw up and Asami turned away sharply. There were nails in his eyes. The eyes were nice and red and bloody and painful looking and eeeewww.

Yue ran off to the bathroom, and Asami was pale and turned away from him. She shuddered and wondered whether or not she would be able to sleep the next few nights.

"Cover yourself!" Asami barked out louder than she meant.

Nel covered his eyes again.

It would be a few minutes before Yue could stop throwing up and come out. She sat down at the table, her face now green. Asami was white as a ghost.

"I-I think we may need some help." Yue said weakly. "The metal is still..."

"There." Nel finished for her.

Yue nodded, "I ca-can't remove the metal through bending. If I tried anyway else, it..."

"Would make you throw up more?"

"I was going to say 'cause more damage'. Perhaps to the extent of being irreversible even for me, but that too."

"I know just who to call." Asami whispered. She shuddered and pulled out her phone.

* * *

Lin Beifong looked down her nose at the young man seated before her. If he wasn't blind, he would have taken note of her scowl. What truly ticked her off was that he belonged behind a prison cell, yet here he was free, and calm. The calmness felt almost defiant to her, like he didn't think she was worth being remotely phased over. She expected most people she didn't like to at least be cautious, watchful, or tense. She would even settle for annoyed. It was like he didn't care one way or another she was there at all.

"You expect me to... **what?**" She hissed.

"Please, remove the metal from his eyes." Asami asked. The little girl by her had her hands together in a pleading gesture.

"If I am gonna involve metal with this perpetrator, it will be putting him behind some! The only reason I am not doing so right this instant, is because he is apparently the Avatar's little house guest!"

"For what he did, he should pay his dues." Asami agreed. "What way can he do so, while still being able to be 'the Avatar's little house guest'?" Nel turned sharply to her, but said nothing. If he had eyes by now, he would have been glaring needles at her. In fact, if he had eyes, they wouldn't be talking to Beifong.

Lin looked straight ahead and spoke completely monotonue, as though she was reading off a list. She said, "Thirty-two accounts of Destruction of Public Property, with a grand total coming down to five hundred sixty-two thousand dollars worth, not counting the sixteen-wheeler."

"Accident." Nel replied with hostility.

"Fifty accounts of Resisting Arrest, one for each policemen I recall being there."

"Bullshit." Nel stated bluntly. "You attacked me!"

"One account of Taking a Hostage, one account of holding someone against their will, and another account of taking the chief of police hostage. Namely, me."

"That's the same thing!" Nel jumped up and hollered.

Lin ignored him, but couldn't help smirking at how aggravated he was getting. She finally got a reaction out of him, he was pissed, and she was going to enjoy it.

"Options include a hundred years imprisonment, two billion dollars in payment to the city, or two hundred years of community service."

Nel hissed in air through his teeth and whispered, "You cannot be serious..."

"If you extend your community service to the police department, to be at our beck and call whenever I want, I am willing to cut it down to thirty years." Lin looked down to Nel and brought her face to his. She continued in the same tone, "If you go for the insanity plea, I will make it thirty-one just because I know you will be shitting with me."

"THE HELL I'M DOING THA-"

A sudden snap pierced the air. He was cut off immediately by the urge to scream and grab his manliness. Nel fell to his knees whimpering and hissing through his teeth like an animal.

Yue walked out from behind Nel and seemed mortified by something. She covered her face with her hands and grew red from the neck up. Asami and Lin both looked to her in surprise.

"He'll do it." Asami concluded. She shook hands with Beifong.

"You are** all**... evil!" Nel squeaked.

"Good," Lin turned her attention down to him. "I will give you an hour to recuperate before we begin."

"It would be best if we left then." Asami said. "It is very gory." She took Yue by the shoulders and walked out.

After they left, Nel snarled, "You're just loving this aren't you!"

Beifong purred, "Ohhh! You **know** I am!"

Asami looked down to see Yue was still mortified. She asked, "What are you embarrassed about? We got him on reasonable terms with her, and you have the chance to heal his eyes now."

"Its not that." Yue whispered. "I found out he is a unick!" (That's a man with no genitals.)


	10. Chapter 10 - A Night of Preperation

"Do not think otherwise, I hate them. I detest benders, and I always will. But no longer is it about the individual or the people, but about the gift itself. How can I hate one just for being born? Yet in the face of how this power makes devoted work, loyalty, sweat, blood, and tears useless in comparison... all I can ask of benders as a whole is to give the rest of us a chance to make something of ourselves. To have influence and our place in this world. As long as history has existed, the only people with the most chapters in history are benders, whereas the rest of us get a sentence here and there. Is it so hard to ask that the rest of us be given a chance?"

-Rocade Mobile's words to Gommu before leaving

* * *

Night came, and Beifong and Nel moved to a distant part of the mansion. Everyone else returned inside for dinner. Tenzen returned from the Council Hall and gathered his family and friends for the dinner. Asami cooked with Pam.

Some food was provided for Lin and Nel, but they had different plans.

Beifong shut the door and turned on a light. She brought it close to Nel's face, and had him sit in front of her. He did so quietly. He didn't make a sound nor resist.

Beifong removed the cloth around his head and looked at his eyes. The shape of the skin around the eyes was peculiar, a simple sign of race over anything else. The eyes themselves were disgusting. They were inflamed and full of puss, red, and crusted. She expected to see green colored eyes, as it was sign of gangreen. Gangreen signified rot and dead flesh. His eyes were very much alive.

The nails imbedded completely into them were difficult to miss as well. They were lodged directly through his iris. The nails moved slightly because he would turn his eyes. He saw nothing, but even blind people still move their eyes a bit.

"Does it hurt?" Beifong inquired.

"Yes." He said flatly.

"Even now? Nothing is touching you."

"Yes."

Ok... so his eyes hurt from the nails. It was both good and bad. On one hand, it meant the nerves in his eyes were still working. On the other hand, it meant he was in a great deal of endless pain, and removing the nails would be even more painful without something to numb him.

Beifong wasn't a doctor, she wasn't a nurse, but she still had more control over metal than the most skilled metal bending surgeons did. She would just need to be very very careful, lest she cause more damage. If his eyes are still alive, barely, then causing more damage might make it permanent.

She studied Nel and found he was relaxed. She expected him to be tense, white-knuckled, and leaning away from her. He didn't appear afraid.

"Who did this to you?" She asked. She tilted his head to the side to get a good angle.

"You wouldn't know him. His name is Slavian."

"You're right, I don't, but I see he is good at this. The nail is in there good." She tapped it with her finger. He sucked in air through his teeth in pain, and she felt the vibrations.

It was a very old fashioned screw. No grooves or ridges or twists to deal with. The only way to remove the nails were straight out. Unfortunately this created the danger of literally pulling his eyes out of their sockets.

"Any particular reason he would do this?" She inquired. Odds are the young man did some crime and this was some obscene form of punishment. She had never heard of punishment like this before though, and it made her curious. Was this a distant land, or an isolated village somewhere with its own code? Could be a gang for all she knew.

Nel chuckled, even as she touched his face and made him hurt as she inspected his eyes. "No real reason. He just enjoys it."

Aaaah. She thought. If it was true and this person enjoyed shoving nails in his eyes, that would make him morbid and perhaps a good dose of masochist. Odds are though, it was a punishment for some crime. She continued hanging onto that idea.

"Alright." She said at last. Beifong leaned away from Nel and gave him some breathing room. She called out for a servant and said, "We are going to need a lot of hot water, leather straps, and sterile towels and gause. This will be bloody. While your at it, my bag should include a vial of anesthesia, strong enough to knock out an elephant."

The servant bowed and left.

Nel asked, "Why would you carry that around?"

She shrugged and joked, "It helps me sleep."

He gaped at her, and she whacked him upside the head. "I don't really! I'm not stupid! Sometimes it is necessary for on-the-field emergencies."

The servant returned with the items she requested and she looked them over briefly. It was all there. She strapped Nel down to the chair. The chair had a back high enough for his head. Some towels were placed over his chest and lap and arms and behind him. Beifong put the hot water beside herself and pulled out some anesthesia into a shot.

"Pass." Nel said gruffly.

"Ohhohh!" Beifong giggled. "Trust me, little man, you are gonna want this! Although, I could try using a hammer instead."

"Forget it!"

Beifong leaned in close to him and whispered pleasently, "Now, I realize your trying to act all tough and shit with me here, but trust me... it ain't gonna put you on my good side nor make you appealing as a man. Take it like a man, suck it up, and take the shot. I won't tell your friends you let yourself be vulnerable in the presence of a woman."

"It's not that I don't want it." Nel explained. "It's that it is a waste of effort."

"What?" Her voice dropped.

"Drugs, poison, these things dont work on me."

"Bullshit."

Nel sighed. "My blood is different... Don't ask. I'm not a scientist like Kure'Gane, I can't explain it."

Beifong looked him over. He seemed honest about the fact that it didn't work, which was... odd. She had never heard of such a thing.

She stabbed him in the arm. He flinched and whispered, "I told you it was a waste..."

"Don't care." She pulled it out and set the shot aside. "Should take a few seconds to kick in. Count for me."

"No."

Beifong rolled her eyes, waited a few seconds, and kicked him in the shin.

He flinched and yelled, "What was that for!?"

"Oh! Your still awake?"

"**Yes!**" He hollered. "I told you it wouldn't work."

"Hmmmm..." Beifong looked him over. His head did not fall backwards in sleep, his hands continued to squirm. He was very much awake.

"Ok." Lin submitted. "We do this your way."

Lin scooted her chair over beside him close and handed him something hard. "Bite down on this. You are going to be awake the entire time."

Nel took the rod of wood and held onto it a second. He breathed in and out slowly.

Beifong took the few seconds to explain, "I am going to use one hand to literally hold your eye down, and the other will slowly bend the metal straight out. You will feel everything. It will be bloody. It will be slow and agonizing for every moment time passes. I need you to be perfectly still, including your eyes, because if you move them in the slightest, it will mess me up."

"Ok."

"I'm serious now. Your eyes must not move in the slightest."

"Got it." He nodded.

He inserted the pole into his mouth and leaned back. Beifong ensured the straps would be tight. With his strength, it was a waste of time to check, but precautions were precautions. She had never done anything like this before, and was working on the fly.

She reached up to his eyes and stopped. She asked, "Have you ever experienced anything like this before?"

Nel pulled the pole out to reply, "Once."

* * *

Ethoe sat at the table and observed the little 'family' here. On one end were the kids, including everyone from the Spirit World and himself, and on the other end were the adults. Bolin and Korra sat on both sides of Mako, and were having fun toying with him. He was still in a bad mood, but their constant teasing eventually turned him over.

There was much on his mind, and doubt crept in on him no matter how much he tried to console himself. He had watched them train in their own ways while giving them pointers. It had only been a day, and they had proven themselves better than he expected.

Bolin and Mako were imaginative and explosive in power. When he considered why, it made sense. They were brothers. Brothers tended to be rivals and rivalry was a good training incentive. Their game to outdo the other was the best tool he could have hoped for. In addition, they only had one element each to focus on.

Korra proved to be a more difficult trainee. She was the Avatar, and she had enourmas potential as such, but she failed to use it properly. Not that she was bad, but she lacked power and imagination. She had to balance four elements in her mind, and couldn't afford to focus on growing any one. She was proving to be skilled at all, but master of none. She also was very much new to air bending, and had barely touched on energy bending.

Bolin snagged one of Mako's sausages and ate it before Mako could turn to him. Mako positioned himself with his back to Korra to watch Mako. Korra wormed her hand around and blew another sausage to Bolin, who ate it before Mako could retrieve it. He was more or less ganged up on by both of them.

Ethoe considered Yue. He knew little about her before being a spirit, but believed she wasn't a bender. Her power was derived then from being the moon, of course. Still, her mastery of it amazed him. Her agreement to heal Nel would also be of infinite use to him.

Which brought him to his young friend, Nel. He was a difficult one. Ethoe knew everything about him, but this meant he knew for a fact that Nel's potential would be difficult. Nel could, for a fact, rival Boum in power and Izthark in speed if he unleashed his power to its full extent, but his morals held him back. He was a man filled with regret for his past. His body was broken from torture and beatings, his eyes were taken from him, and he had issues with self-control in combat. The Nel he saw was a shadow of his full self in body, and was held back by The Beast.

The Beast is what Ethoe named his alternate ego as. Nel's pain and agony in his youth was fueled by hatred. Slavian purposefully filled him with hatred to make him strong, and the production was a monster. Nel'Andra was able to eventually cage this side of himself, but there were times The Beast could awaken if they were not careful. Nel had embraced the love and teachings of a blind girl name Alare, and her father Kure'Gane. Right now he didn't have them, and he needed someone to keep him focused.

Ethoe looked to Aang and watched him play with his grandchildren. They were being childish with their food, and Aang was no exception. He loved them, and was not held by pride. He lowered himself to their level easily. Aang was a man filled with love for people, and esspecially his family. If Aang and Nel were to be friends, it would be just what Nel needed.

Asami put a plate of food down near Ethoe and sat by him to eat herself.

Ethoe considered her. She was a technically minded mortal. There were few he could consider truly intelligent, she would prove to be one of them. She was also a great comfort to him. She was always there to help, despite being the weakest, and he wouldn't mind the occasion to brainstorm with her.

Ethoe would need to be away while they fought the Councilman, that he may work on the mechanisms. They would be without him, without a leader to give plans or strategies or give orders. Asami would fit the bill perfectly. He would just need to explain as much as possible about their foes.

She would be an excellent squad leader. She had the fire in her to hold Nel, was comfortable around kids, namely Aang and Yue, and was good friends with the others. They listened to her.

Ethoe chuckled, and Aang looked at him curiously. Ethoe kept his thoughts to himself, but truly, he was amazed by how the group fit.

After dinner was concluded, Beifong entered the kitchen and walked to the sink. There was blood all over her arms up to her shoulders, and down to her front. Yue looked to her in horror.

Tenzen turned in his seat and asked, "Lin? Any particular reason you are washing off a ton of blood in my kitchen sink?"

"The surgery is concluded." Beifong stated. "Your house guest lost a great deal of blood through his eyes. To his credit, he didn't make a sound or move, otherwise this might have taken much longer than it did."

The kid's eyes grew huge, Pam ushered them from the room to something less... bloody. Yue wanted to stay and inquire of her friend, but Aang ushered her along.

Ethoe asked Beifong, "Did it hurt him?"

"Greatly." Beifong stated flatly. "He refused anesthesia, and felt every bit of it. He passed out a little while ago."

Beifong finished wiping the blood off and shuddered. "I've never seen anyone take so much pain in complete silence. The guy didn't make a sound. He is probably going to develop an aneurism from containing so much in his head."

Ethoe chuckled nervously and glanced to the side. "Yea... probably."

Tenzen asked, "I trust the surgery was Avatar business..."

"I think it is." Beifong shrugged. "But I can't say for certain."

"Yep." Korra nodded. "Avatar business, totally."

"Anything you want to let me in on more?" Beifong asked. She tried to sound nice, but it just made her seem like she was playing 'good cop'. "After all, I did just have my hands inside his head."

"Uhhhhhh..." Korra started. "No. Not yet."

Tenzen and Beifong studied her closely, and she met their gaze with a stupid grin. Her eyes drifted to Ethoe, who just sipped his drink. He seemed oblivious.

Tenzen sighed, "Very well, I will not intrude. If you wish us to know, I trust you will come to us. Lin, was the surgery a success?"

Instead of answering, Beifong produced two nails from her hands and tossed them onto the table in front of him.

"You didn't have to put them on the table..." Tenzen tensed.

Asami snatched up the nails and put them in her pocket. Tenzen relaxed.

Ethoe finished his drink and food. He put his dishes together in a neat pile, pushed his chair from the table, and climbed down. He walked up to Korra and whispered something in her ear.

Bolin watched him curiously, and slurped his food. Mako whacked him upside the head.

Ethoe finished whispering, and Korra whispered, "Are you sure? Tonight?"

"Time is limited."

"Ok." Korra straightened back up and coughed into her hand. "Tenzen, we will need a sky bison for a while, if you don't mind?"

"More Avatar business?" He checked.

She nodded.

Tenzen sighed and paused to buy time. He didn't particularly care for answering. They only had two or three sky bison, and he needed them for leaving the island. Boats were nice, but inconvenient.

"Fine. Just bring him back in one piece."

Korra squealed, jumped up and hugged him. "Thanks!"

Mako added, "You have nothing to worry about, sir. We will take good care of it."

* * *

Rocade Mobile looked down on the five-foot squirt who had the guts to stand up to him and stare at him. The girl was a firecracker with a mood that could give anyone whiplash. She had the temper of a volcano, the love of a tender mother, and could be set off in either direction at the drop of a hat.

She also had a thing for staring.

Mobile gazed down into her brown eyes and blinked lazily. She pointed to him in a smile and squealed, "I win!"

"What?" Mobile asked.

"You blinked!"

"Oh?" Mobile turned away and put his hands behind his head. He walked away sluggishly. He yawned. "Is that what we were doing?..."

"Damn right Mr. Cell Phone!"

Mobile looked down to her firmly. "Please use your manners."

"Kiss my hinny Mr. Cell Phone, sir!" She snapped. She skipped off ahead of him to the camp.

Mobile ran his hands through his hair and sighed. He lugged the bag of trash over his shoulder into the midst of the camp and started unloading.

They had set up camp about an hour ago. Himself, little miss Spitfire (as he has nicknamed her), and two men named Henry and Larry. They were brothers. Spitfire was the only bender of them. She used... some element. Mobile didn't pay attention to which one. With an attitude like hers, it was probably fire.

Wood was hard to come by in the undercity, and at the end of the day it had come down to him picking the short straw. They were provided a wagon, some tends and provisions, and needed to scrounge for firewood themselves. Mobile was completely unused to the enviroment. He had taken the idea of firewood literally, and produced nothing. Spitfire had to come along and "babysit him" as she put it, and basically explain to him what firewood meant down here.

The undercity version of firewood was basically trash. People dumped all kinds of crap down holes in the street, and those little spots became resource nodes for fire provisioning.

The stuff looked like crap, felt like crap, smelled like crap, and probably tasted like crap, but it was what they had. Mobile just prayed that they didn't cook over the crap. Otherwise it would get into his food and...

Mobile shuddered and forced down sudden nausea. He didn't want to think about it.

"We should arrive tonight." Henry let everyone know from his perch on the wagon. His toothpick wagged in his mouth like a dog tail. "So be ready to continue on after breakfast."

"Its dinner." Mobile stated under his breathe.

"Yeah!" Spitfire agreed adamantly.

Henry scoffed. "We haven't eaten in hours. We are fasting. Breakfast is pronounced 'break' and 'fast'. The acting of breaking the fast. It also means 'fast' 'break'. So lets make it quick shall we?"

Mobile growled softly enough to not be heard. Henry was more or less the self-proclaimed leader. He just simply stated the obvious. He was a big man with a bigger head and a mouth wide enough to encompass all of it.

Larry put the tents down, since they wouldn't be staying. Mobile glanced at him and finished unloadng the garbage form the bag. Larry was the opposite. He was thin, lanky, quiet, and a modest follower. Mobile had managed to get a small conversation going with him and found Larry was remarkably intelligent. He was probably twice the IQ his big brother was.

"But doesnt that mean every meal is breaking the fast?!" Spitfire argued. "That makes no sense! That means every meal is breakfast!"

Henry nodded and smiled. "Now your catching on."

Mobile jumped as Larry dropped down the prong legs to the cooking stand over the trash he had just piled up. Larry put a pot in and started the fire.

"Oh please no..." Mobile begged. His eyes were glued to the pot. The guy was actually gonna cook OVER TRASH!

Larry poured in water and meat and vegetables and started to stir gently.

Mobile face palmed and prayed. These people were going to be the death of him.

* * *

The sky bison plodded down on the courtyard stone with an aggravated roar, and collapsed. Its tongue stuck out and eyes closed.

"He looks tired." Akami observed.

"Thats ok! I know how to perk him right up!" Aang laughed. He ran around to the head of the bison out of sight.

Asami turned back to the house to see the others were preparing for the journey. Mako brought out a number of quilts and large pillows, Bolin lugged huge basins of soup and bread, and the girls worried over the stretcher of Nel'Andra as the servants carried him. Yue was being oddly protective and pushing Korra away. Korra was trying to help, but getting him through the small door with her being there was not quite working. Finally she just decided to make the doorway bigger with some earth bending. Asami flinched as she saw Tenzen on the other side of the newly formed hole fuming silently.

"Avatar business Tenzen!" Korra explained. She snuck away while Tenzen inspected the damage himself.

"You will cover for me right?" Korra asked Asami. She leaned to the side and smiled.

Asami shrugged and waved it all aside. "Of course. Have Tenzen send me a check. I'll just have you working the streets for a few days since you owe me." Asami chuckled.

Korra gasped. Her eyes grew wide. "Seriously?"

Asami nodded. "If I don't, I assure you he will. Trust me, I won't make it demeaning."

"Pft... fine." Korra rolled her eyes. She leaped in one swoop onto the sky bison, and Asami saw Aang observe her airbend. He was frowning heavily and he immediately downcast his eyes.

"You know how to handle them well." A voice observed by her.

Asami about jumped out of her skin at the voice of Ethoe. Ethoe looked up at her reaction and put on a fake smile. "Did not mean to startle you."

"Yeah... its ok." Asami whispered. She still shook a bit, but she would be fine in a minute once she recovered her nerves. Yue was upset at the servants because trying to put a patient on a rack onto a sky bison is very difficult. Didn't help they were tired. She was about ready to take charge of the whole thing. Asami laughed as the servant slipped on the bison's tail and it gave Nel'Andra a little ride down the tail being followed by a squealing Yue. Ethoe watched without expression.

Mako and Bolin stood up on the bison and gave Tenzen the thumbs up, and after a little effort, Yue had Nel'Andra positioned on the bison as well. Just in case, he needed to be strapped down with ropes to keep from slipping off in the wind once they were airborne.

Tenzen looked with tired eyes from them, to the hole in his wall, and back. He just waved them off and left with a yawn.

The bison straightened up on all four legs and let out a huff. It didn't wanna be going anywhere. It wanted sleep! Aang climbed up the side of its face and ended up aggravating it even more as he got into position. Aang grabbed the reigns and smiled wider than he had all week. For a moment, everything was where it should be.

Asami started to walk over to climb up as well, but stopped as Ethoe held her arm. She looked down to him and saw his expression was serious. He said, "Once we arrive in Mymphis Ryol, the time will come for me to leave and focus on resetting the mechanisms."

Asami nodded. He continued, "That will result in freeing the two of them temporarily. During this time, I need you to take command and lead them."

Asami's eyes grew wide. Her heart skipped a beat. A couple beats later she yelled, "What!?"

Ethoe did not flinch. He continued, "You know how to handle them and you are resourceful. I am not asking you to participate actively, only make calls."

"You expect me to be some kind of squad leader?!" she hissed out in a whisper. She made sure they weren't overheard, and the rest of the gang looked to them curiously.

"Yes." He said flatly.

Asami fumed and could not say anything for a moment. "I am not military! I don't know the first thing about strategies!"

"The battles here are not similar to large scale wars. It will be all of you against two of them. What's more, everyone has a style in bending. I am not asking you to come up with military maneuvers on the fly, but when the time comes simply make sure the enemy is occupied. Just focus on buying time."

Asami looked down at him angrily, but silent. It was true what he said... he would be gone. She knew she was the most... intelligent of the group, but it still felt wrong. Aang was too hyper and childish, Yue was the same, Korra and Mako and Bolin would be focusing their coordination in the middle of the battle, and Nel'Andra... well he was the wild card. As far as Asami could tell, he would be either an expert on his own, or be overcome by bloodlust and not think at all.

Asami, herself, was the only one who could stand back and think. Asami cursed.

Ethoe tilted his head to the side and asked, "I can give you knowledge of great battles from time an-"

Asami put out her hand and shook her head. "No, don't be putting one of those glowing things on my head."

Ethoe nodded his understanding.

Asami sighed and pinched her nose in thought. Mako called out, "Whats the hold up?"

Asami turned red and barked, "Get down and shut up!"

Mako looked at her in surprise and obeyed. Bolin and Korra both laughed at his dumbstruck expression. Asami returned to Ethoe and breathed, "Fine... But I will tell you, I have no idea what I am doing."

Ethoe shrugged and walked to the bison. "You have time." He stated.


	11. Chapter 11 - Mymphis Ryol part 1

"I am sorry, Aang, Korra, but the Avatars do not know anything of this Slavian Aeterna. Even the first Avatar knows nothing of him. Yet... it is odd. Oh, its just... The Avatar State is supposed to call upon the power and experience of all of those who have come before us. Right Korra, this would mean that each subsequent Avatar is stronger and stronger within the state. Yet, the thing I find odd, is that the first Avatar is nearly as strong as you Aang in the Avatar state. Does this mean he always drew on the power of Slavian without knowing it? This brings to mind questions I am afraid to know answered. Why can we not commune with him and just how powerful is this Slavian? I will gather the Avatars and we will look into this matter further on our end. You two focus on the mission at hand and keep his champions from rising. Do not be down, Aang. Your power is there, you just have to find it again."

-Avatar Roku's meeting with Aang and Korra in the Spirit World

* * *

The evening went by smoothly, all things considered. They flew all night over the ocean, and the Avatar team slept smoothly.

Aang stayed on his perch in the front of the bison, and was rather enjoying himself. It was... almost home. He remembered all of time he spent sitting on a bison, the collective of which was probably years, and this was no different from those times. I mean, sure, the bison smelled different. It voice was lighter, its fur did not feel the same under him, and it didn't respond to him talking. He tried making conversation to it, and the bison just twitched its head side to side as if to say "shut up kid."

The part that really was starting to annoy Aang was himself really. Every few minutes he had the instinct to turn around and see Sokka, Zuko, Toph and his would-be-wife right behind him teasing each other. Instead he saw a whole new generation of guys, who he... simply did not know. Sure, he knew Korra, but the rest of them?

It just wasn't the same... he missed the old days. He knew the time passed... but he could not push aside the ache in his heart.

Aang closed his eyes weerily and breathed in and out slowly. He threw himself backwards and looked up at the stars. Next to him he saw Ethoe meditating. The shining blueness of his eyes gave it away. Ethoe was letting his body rest while he worked in the Spirit World doing whatever... spirits do. Like making banana onion soup or working to keep order in the universe at a basic level or something. Aang couldn't be sure.

While in life, Aang had always found people to be diverse. Some were happy, go lucky people until the need came to be serious, like Sokka. Some were tormented by their past seeking redemption, like Zuko. Some were just plain insane and super-smart at the same time to the point that you couldn't tell which they were, like Pumi. Then others were willing to destroy countless lives for their own gratification... Those were the ones Aang understood the least. Not that he didn't know technically what drove them, their nature was just so different from his own that he could never see it from their perspective.

Then the Spirit World came, and Aang found himself in a whole knew world. The Spirit world continued to have much the same types of... beings. Tormented, happy-go-lucky, selfish, insane, super-smart, and so on; but in the mix there were thousands of different kinds of those mixed in. Almost everyone was their own kind of insane from what Aang had seen. It was almost as if being in the Spirit World shed a person of "normalcy" and let their true personality shine in its most extreme state without fear of being shunned.

**Flashback**:

Aang bumped into a spirit and apologized.

The spirit turned on him and said, "It's ok. No need to apologize."

Again the spirit turned to him and said, "Really. Don't apologize, its all good."

Again the spirit turned to him and said, "Why did you apologize? Its-"

A fourth time the spirit turned on him and said, "What are you mocking me?!"

a fifth time the spirit turned on him, grabbed him by the collar, and shook him like a doll screaming, "TAKE THE APOLOGY BACK YOU RAT BASTARD!"

**end Flashback**

Aang just figured spirits were a whole different level of weird. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but he found no matter how hard he tried, the different smell of the bison beneath him unnerved him greatly.

Out of boredom, Aang threw his a fist, hoping against hope the wind would respond.

"Fudge moneys..."

* * *

Patience was indeed a virtue, so far the man was concerned. But that didn't mean he had to like it. He was tired of constantly waiting... He wanted to see stuff done.

The captain of the Eternal Hand, Torbulas, strode down the dimly light halls making up the undercity. Around him, men layed out along the ground groaning in ecstasy from their drug-produced stupor. In his eyes, they were pieces of trash just as much as much as the trash they wallowed in. Torbulas side stepped them carefully, ensuring they did not touch him, and he made his way to the chamber of Her.

Torbulas brought his hand up to knock. Before his hand ever met the door, someone said, "Come." Torbulas blinked in surprise briefly, and forced aside his surprise. He entered in and found a twenty-two year old woman.

The lady was naked, covered only by black water in a small pool she reclined in. The water seemed to be her own little spa, but Torbulas did not feel any heat coming from it, and its texture seemed too oily to be water. It was unnerving. The woman was unnerving. Not only was she probably one of the most beautifully endowed woman he ever layed eyes on, but she had a gleam in her eye that horrified him to his core.

"Come now, Torbulas. Do not be afraid." She sneered. "Why don't you join me?" She waved her hand over briefly without so much as looking at him.

Her eyes peered off into the distance thoughtfully. Torbulas was a somewhat superstitous man. He believed that the eyes showed everything there was to know about a person. If they were well disciplined, it showed in their eyes. If they were drugged, it showed in the eyes. If they were a generally happy person, then their eyes showed a never ending smile. The eyes the woman gave off could be described in only one word. "Scheming." Her eyes showed planning, thoughtfulness, and the ability to see the grand scheme of things. She was looking into the future, into the distance. She was seeing alternatives, endings, results, and then shifting them around in her head to meet her needs. Like a set of a million cogs that never stopped turning, her eyes seemed to always be looking off, seeing someone no one else saw. More than that, they showed patience, surety, and most of all, patience. Her eyes showed her planning, seeing many things in detail afar off, and confidence in waiting for the opportune moment. All in all, it came down to simply having eyes that showed so much experience that it truly scared him. She wasn't arrogant, she simply seemed to know exactly what she was doing, as well as what everyone else was doing as well.

And this was when she wasn't looking at you. When she looked into your eyes, all of the experience seemed to focus on you and pierce your soul. All of Torbulas's mental barriers were nothing to her. He was used to being able to perceive people in the eyes easily, but when she looked back, he saw she was just the same way, only to so much a stronger degree that he felt like an ignorant oaf. When he looked into someone's eyes, he saw how they generally were. When she did, she saw their very soul.

It was almost like she was reading their mind.

Torbulas bowed briefly and forced all emotion out of his voice. "I think I will pass, milady."

She frowned and pouted briefly like a child. Torbulas did not respond, knowing this was a ploy at toying with him. He did not appreciate games. She on the other hand, never seemed to stop.

"Fine." She responded. all at once, the image of her being a child disappeared, and in its place seemed to be an old woman. She was still the same person physically, but her demeanor became as if she was looking down on him like he was a youngster. He was twice her age! He would be insulted if he wasn't somewhat used to it by now. Any thoughts he had about being treated like a youngster, he forced away. She had never punished him, not once. Didn't mean he wasn't afraid though. There was something about her that chilled him to the bone.

It was not necessarily that she acted bloody arrogant, she just had such a flat tone and seriousness one expected from an elder woman.

The lady climbed out of the pool and took up a white robe on the arm of a chair. Torbulas turned his back as he saw her. Remembering why he was here, he pulled out a set of papers in his hand and said, "I have the reports you wanted."

"Hm." was the response. After a moment, Torbulas felt a cold scaley hand on his shoulder and he jumped away suddenly. The lady, now robed loosely (even though, to Torublas's annoyance, most of her cleavage still was not closed off), raised an eyebrow briefly, before taking the papers from his stunned hands. She looked down on them briefly.

Paper 1 - Report on the spreading plague. All of the undercity has become infected, including the Eternal Hand, and symptoms are expected to start appearing all over the place in the next few days. People are starting to die from it. Only those in the Eternal Hand are not showing negative symptoms, if anything, they appear to be stronger and more lively. The deathtoll in the undercity is expected to start growing exponentially.

Paper 2 - Report on the "Blood Pheonix". The project has started to see results. Those undergoing treatment are showing signs of strength, speed, stamina, and incidentally, blood lust. The doctors are curious how The Lady was able to produce the vaccine she had come forward with, but it is beyond anything they have ever seen. They are becoming hesitant on its continued use because it is drastically altering the muscle, blood, and mental make-up of the body. Already doctors are finding that conventional poisons, disease, and medicine that would normally affect people, are having no affect on the Blood Pheonix because their blood is simply too different. The results are making the doctors speculate the wisdom in continuing treatment of the vaccine.

Paper 3 - The police are continuing to show up wherever a battle between the gangs is expected. They are taking both sides prisoner, while showing clear favoritism to the "community" of one particular old man who is trying to expand a peaceful neutral party. His words are largely neutral, but his actions so far show him assisting the Eternal Hand's rivals.

Paper 4 - On the surface, a recent disturbance has occured in the form of a man who was able to beat up a ton of cars, a sixteen-wheeler, and a horde of police, and the chief of police, all with his bare hands. There is also rumor he beat up the Avatar. His name is unknown, but it is believed he is a foreigner because of his unintelligible speech.

Paper 5 - The City Council continues to not make a statement on the war in the undercity, nor is gathering to discuss it yet, but is temporarily increasing its pay to the police force in order for them to do their job more thoroughly.

Paper 6 - As of a few hours ago, the Avatar, and a group of friends, left Republic City and headed south-west. It is believed she will be gone for some time since she took with her enough supplies to last a few days.

Torbulas watched her as she read. Her face showed nothing, and he saw her eyes take into great depth and detail the implications of what was written. He could almost see her throw out some ideas, make new ones, and adjust her whole mindset as easily as the tide. In an instant she was producing complex schemes and making tweaks to ones already planned.

She shoved the papers in his chest as soon as she was done. "Follow me." She said.

They left the room and out into the halls. She looked down on the sloppy fools laying around, almost lovingly. Almost. Like a girl looks on ants before she crushes them. They left the building entirely and out into the open. The Eternal Hand, as a gang, was more of a small city. The Lady, and her followers, had taken up residence in an area that may have originally been designed to be part of the upper-city, but was never in the plans in the end. The street was unused, buildings, rather old but functional, and simple utilitys like plumbing and electricity were there. More than that, they were free and illegal. It was all tied directly into the power lines and sewage system and water lines, in areas the companys had stopped looking years ago.

Light streamed down overhead through large gaping holes in the ceiling where the upper-city streets were not completely closed off from them. If only the people in the cars would look over the side through their windows, they would be surprised what they saw below.

That was a funny thing Torbulas observed. No one looked. No one cared. They knew, oh they certainly knew of the under-city, but as long as they lived in their comfortable lives overhead, they felt as though they were as distant from those below as east was from west. It was a whole different world, and it was only ten feet away.

The Lady snapped her fingers, and Torbulas pulled himself from his thoughts. Her face continued to be emotionless, and all seriousness. "Kill the scientists. I no longer have any need for them. I had already invented the vaccine, I just needed them to adapt to this... generation." She said with distaste. Her voice also did not quiver at all over the idea of killing. In fact, she sounded bored.

"Then, when that is done, start having the vaccine mass produced. We are going to need more of it. Offer one of the Level 1 vials to each gang suffering from the plague."

"And then?" Torbulas asked. Again with the waiting... He was so tired of waiting. The idea of killing the scientists were one thing, that would give him entertainment for a few minutes, but then... just mail out a few vials of level 1 vaccines? Surely The Lady's massive schemes had more to do than just that.

"Then nothing." She responded. Again, she sounded bored. "I know you do not like being patient, Torbulas, but we must be. We must not overextend nor overplay our hand. The gangs are expecting us to move, and the police are moving themselves. This... council of theirs is neither stupid nor blind. They are ignorant, and this they must stay by working one step at a time. We are planting the seeds, now we just have to wait and see what grows. Be patient, Torbulas. I have waited many... many years. It will not be too much longer."

Torbulas bowed, "It shall be done, Darneh."

* * *

To say that Nel was dreaming would be both right and wrong. He was seeing images, but they were not fictional nor memory. In fact, he was inside himself.

Many years ago, whether a self-produced source of comfort, or as a place to commune with himself, or just a corner of his mind where even the accursed psychic could not see, Nel had produced a part of him where he could do just that. Talk to himself.

"Shut up." Nel said for the upteenth time.

Or it might just be he enjoyed being irritated.

Beside where Nel sat on the stone empty floor, there was a cage. The cage was covered in a thin blue veil, and within it was darkness. Darkness that sucked in shadow and all things dark, consuming it and leaving nothing but void. The otherside of the cage could not be seen, no tendrils of shadow extended out, nor did it fade as candlelight. The dark void was immediate and flat as a wall. Within it, two red eyes, just like his own, shown out and looked to him.

A sinister and cold voice mocked, "They don't trust you..."

Nel rolled his eyes and responded. "Since when has anyone. I am used to it."

"they fear you..." the voice taunted.

Nel frowned thoughtfully and nodded, "Probably. I did injure one of their strongest in an instant. But they have nothing to fear so long as they don't attack me."

"They hate you..."

"You have said that twenty seven times now, this night." Nel chided. He layed back on the stone and yawned. "Your running out of crap to say."

The eyes narrowed in a glare and an open growl came from the cage. Nel leaned up and kicked the cage. The eyes drifted away suddenly, but returned just as quickly.

"They will hurt you..."

"I don't see why they wouldn't." Nel admitted. "But I can say the same about everyone. I'm not worried, let them try. If they do, they do, if they don't, they don't. Not like they can actually do anything. Slavian tried to kill me, and I'm here. Boum almost killled me but-."

"Sorla..." The voice prodded.

Nel stopped and glared at the voice in the darkness. The owner of the voice, having seen a break in him, stepped forward out of the darkness to the bars of the cage. He looked exactly like Nel, except for being bald, covered in scars on every inch of his body, bloodthirsty eyes, a dark sinister smile, and metal fingers. cloth over his body and legs were nothing more than rags, and he walked hunched over on four limbs. His toes were also metal knives, just as much as his fingers, scraping across the floor.

The Beast continued, "We trusted her..."

Nel flinched at the memory. Sorla had been a friend he had rescued. She had seen into him at a time when he had a gentler side, another alternate personality that co-existed with him and The Beast. the gentler personality acting as a balance for him against The Beast. Her and the third personality became quite close... Nel personally was happy for one of his sides to find a girl and had gone from being skeptical to supporting the relationship, even so far as to step back entirely in the body the three of them shared, to give them more time together.

But like everything he came close to, Slavian had a tendency to touch. He found her and broke her without a single word or punishment. His presence alone was enough to shatter her very perception of life as a whole and do exactly what he wanted.

"She stabbed us..."

Nel instinctively reached behind and rubbed where she had stabbed him in the spine. It wasn't anymore than ten minutes after that, that Slavian had knocked him unconscious and then he awoke in... this place. Nel felt himself grow angry at the memory, but pushed it back for the sake of the Third personality.

"You wouldn't happen to know where 'he' is do you?" Nel asked The Beast. "I have not heard from him since... a while."

The Beast shook his head. "'He' disappeared in the stabbing. Interesting, Alare's teachings gave birth to me, her death gave birth to Third, and Sorla killed him."

"Enough!" Nel snapped. He kicked the cage and The Beast recoiled. Nel fumed and forced the anger down again. He desperately needed the Third personality... Third was always the happy child one who naturally kept The Beast at bay. Now, without him, The Beast was the only one Nel could talk to.

The Beast snarled and said, "Do not expect me to take on your pain next time... That... surgery took a toll on us."

"Bullshit!" Nel puffed. He crossed his arms and looked down his nose at The Beast. "You **enjoyed** it. You relish in pain. For some perverted reason, you feast on it. Do not act as though putting yourself in a 'fast' is going to punish me. i would just as soon not take it on to begin with."

"No. but perhaps next time, I will not take on your pain..." The Beast sneered. "Just so you can realize how much you need **us**."


	12. Chapter 12 - Univeral Core

Mobile, the firecracker, and the brothers made their way into what could only be construed as a town by those below. To Mobile, it was more of a pile of garbage. Walls were erected out of fused plastic and metal garbage collected and the huts were made out of tin sheets and cloth. For once in his life, he felt like he had fallen even further down the social ladder than he had before. He really felt he needed a bath.

The people themselves were mean, lean, and looked like they would take your arm off if you looked at them wrong. Mobile wasn't intimated, he had dealt with people like them before, but he didn't want to have to waste his time. Besides, firecracker would probably just get herself hurt.

Many of the occupants of the gang were armed. The armaments included assault rifles, bazookas, pistols, grenades, and other gismos Mobile did not recognize. They meant business. He knew martial arts, but he still didn't want to have to find himself at the receiving end of any of that.

One of them in particular, a tall one with a scar across his nose, came to them and saluted briefly. He looked like he was in charge. Mobile simply nodded and the brothers bowed. Firecracker made a comment about his nose and nicknamed his Stuntnose.

Stuntnose did not react at all to the comment. He was as serious as some general in the military. Mobile half expected him to swallow his face. "I'm glad you boys could make it."

"Wouldn't miss it for all the garbage in the world..." Mobile commented. He kicked off some to emphasize his remark.

"I'm afraid I don't have that much, but we do have quite a few sick who need to be taken off." He pointed back toward one of the larger huts. A round one with makeshift windows carved out of the tin plates.

The older of the brothers moved the cart forward and Mobile asked Stuntnose as they walked, "How bad are they?"

"Pretty bad I'm afraid..." He responded gravely. "One has come near death and it is only a matter of time before the rest of us fall as well."

Ah... right. The plague had already swept through the entire underworld. Odds were even Mobile was infected.

"Sounds slow." Mobile observed. "Let's hope a cure can be found in time for us."

They walked up to the building and entered in. Mobile briefly gaped and firecracker squealed in surprise. There were a lot more than they had expected. They could hold some, but there were nearly fifty people! They would need a whole caravan to hold em all!

Stuntnose leaned back against a foundation and said, "Rumor has begun to spread of the Eternal Hand is offering a cure to any that are sent to them."

"Thats good!" Firecracker yelled. "We can get all of these-"

"No." Mobile said simply.

She looked at him curiously.

"It's blackmail. The only way to be cured is to either join them or be made their willing prisoner. Its smart really... weaken the resolve of the enemy and grow in numbers yourself."

Stuntnose nodded in agreement, with some respect. "You read the politics well. However I am afraid they are also starting to put pressure on us. An hour ago I received a report that one of the nearby gangs was torn apart without warning. No loud noise, no gun fire, no explosions. No bending either. Too fast for any to react or notice. There were four survivors out of 200, and they claim the massacre were done by five people."

"And this is tied to the Eternal Hand... how?" Mobile asked. It was a far-fetched idea. Five people taking on two hundred without bending? With bending, he could imagine if they were powerful, but without? That was just rediculas. The five must have been the only ones the witness saw or remembered. Mobile could imagine the five could have done it if they were skilled assasins in sabatage and... poisoned the air vents or something large scale, but nothing like what Stuntnose was suggesting.

"One of them claimed to have been working for the Eternal Hand just prior as a scientist. Says he has information for the police if we can get him that far, but police don't much like us."

"We can-" Firecracker started.

"No." Mobile stopped her. The last thing he wanted was to be recognized by police or for that matter, appearing under any radars. He said to Stuntnose, "We can take him back with us. The old man is in decent relations with them, and can take care of him. Or her."

Stuntnose turned his attention to the far side of the room and called out, "Got that! These fine folk gonna take you on a little joy ride!"

On the far end of the room was every bit the most obvious looking scientist you had ever seen. White spiky hair, huge glasses, gangly, white coat, and was cringing in the corner from anything filthy. The only thing missing was an evil laughter and he would fit the bill.

They would also need a few more carts while they're at it.

* * *

"What do you mean you have nothing!?" Roku asked sternly.

The spirit fox bowed its head and whimpered. While the spirit did not say anything in the same language, its own native language was clearly understood within its own right. More or less, it was out of his hands.

Avatar Roku ran his fingers through his hair and sighed deeply. Another Avatar drifted to him, the 23rd Avatar to be precise. This one was a fat one native to earth kingdom. He had chains across his chest and waist and a beard that entertangled itself with his hair.

The 23rd Avatar said, "Brother. Any luck?"

Roku shook his head. The search was going nowhere. They had been searching for information on Slavian, and found... nothing. The great library had moved from the mortal desert to the spirit world at long last, and even its vast collection came up empty. They had then tried searching for information on any of Slavian's champions, and then into the time period in question.

Literally, the first record in the entire library was the birth of the first modern Avatar. Just after Slavian's imprisonment.

Roku turned weery eyes to the 23rd. "As far as the spirit tells me. There is nothing predating the first modern Avatar. this library wasn't even in existence at the time."

"pft... as if. The little guy is just holding us back! I bet if we tore down some walls it would talk!" The 23rd slammed his fists together. the fox spirit squealed in fright and dived behind Roku.

Roku waved his fists down and said, "That is unnecessary."

"Unnecessary? Our brother and sister are about to face two of Slavian's champions! Judging from how the name gives fear to everything in these parts, we need information."

"Then we shall find it, but the library is still a dead end."

"Then we must move on to another source." A voice said.

Roku glanced down at his side to see a young boy. The boy was naked. While, being a spirit, there was nothing controversial to see since the use of his male organs were no longer necessary; it was still unnerving. His hair went down his back and his eyes were white and pupil-less. He was probably blind.

"Hello, 1st." Roku bowed respectively. 23rd bowed as well. The boy may have been an Avatar, just as them, but his 'creation' was more basic and fundamental on a spiritual level. He was the 1st. In a sense, that made him more perfect than all the others, just slightly. A fact he did not indulge in, and rather spent his time as a hermit even in the spirit world.

The 1st simply nodded.

"Where do you suggest we begin?" Roku asked.

"In my time, the spirits had only just restarted the world. I do not know how far they went in burying the past, but I can tell you that some spirits lived on. Most did not, but some did. Ethoe being one of them."

"Yeah, we know. We are trying to do this without their higher-than-thou input!" The 23rd insisted.

The 1st chuckled. "Still, I can tell you, while they were burying the mortal world, they did not give as much work into the spirit world. Not for a long time. There are librarys older than this one."

Roku's eyes expanded greatly and he glanced around to see if anyone heard. The 23rd asked, "There is? where is it!"

The 1st had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, "Come."

Leaving the rest of the Avatar's behind, the three of them drifted out into the spirit world. Roku and 23rd followed the 1st a great distance before they saw a grand castle before them. It was the primary meeting place. It was where the meeting of a billion or more spirits was held not that long ago, and the whole journey began.

They flew to the castle and at the 1st's command they stayed out of sight. With the idea of Slavian's return on the rise, the guards were increased a hundred fold. At last they came to a portion of the wall where they were unseen, and the 1st put his hands on the wall.

Roku and 23rd looked at him curiously, then gaped as the 1st fell through the wall. Two hands then extended out and pulled them both inside.

Inside the Meeting Chamber, it was infinite white void. Space had no meaning in this place. The only two objects in existance in this world was a door, which none of the Avatars had been able to enter through in the last meeting, and a single jewel of crystal encased in interlinked spirit-metal bands.

"How did you..." 23rd began.

"Found by accident a long time ago. I had a kind of thing for playing pranks and running away. Things get awfully boring after you die and have served your purpose." the 1st answered casually.

Roku looked on with wonder into the infinite space and followed along as the 1st led them to the crystal. Looking closely, the crystal was cracked.

But it didn't do anything. There was no books or words or... anything.

"Ok... now what?" 23rd asked. He glanced around expecting something to happen.

The 1st rolled his eyes. "This is the library!"

Roku looked around, but again, there were no books. There were no shelves, no scrolls or... for that matter, there was nothing.

"I think you lost us there." Roku concluded. "I see nothing."

The 1st slapped himself in the forehead and let out a sigh. "Think about it. This is not just a library predating the one before, but all of them! This is the first library. It doesn't have books or scrolls or papers or anything of the sort."

Roku continued looking at him waiting for the bunny to jump out of his hat. They didn't understand, and the ignorance was pasted on their faces.

"Ok!" The 1st began. "If you have a library predating everything, what would it inevitably come to contain?"

"Noithing?" the 23rd answered.

The 1st slapped himself again, "No! It would contain EVERYTHING! Past, present, future. All that is, was, and will be, is contained in this room. All of the laws of the physical world and the course it would set to name a few. This library is not confined to space or time, it simply IS. It is the place by which all things are set."

Roku looked around with a slightly renewed image of the place. If it contained the infinite it would undoubtedly have to be infinite itself. The last time he had heard anything like this... he had been talking to a guru. Something about opening his spirit to the infinite universe, but that couldn't be. The universe was physical. But the spiritual side of the coin...

Suddenly it dawned on him. This wasn't the universe, but was the core of it? Every atom, every spec, every law of physics confined within the physical needed a blueprint and laws to be enacted. If you could know how the writer of a book is, you could inevitably predict the ending to many novels. If you could know the way fire worked, you could predict its movements and path because its core remained the same.

If you could see and understanding the core... you could predict and understand... everything. It was not that the space around them was infinite because it needed to hold everything, but because it only needed to contain one thing... the core of it all.

"Amazing." Roku breathed.

The 1st nodded in approval. "Your catching on."

"I still don't get it." The 23rd sighed.

"There is no library." Roku explained. "There is no need for one. If one can simply open themselves to the universe, they come close. But to actually open yourself to the core of it, is to understand it. Librarys only explain a few concepts in an infinite world of them. All things has a source, a core, a place to point to in order to make it tick."

"Uh-huh..." 23rd drolled. Clearly he didn't get it. "How do we make the knowledge tick then?"

Roku sat himself down in a cross-legged position and said, "Just... open ourselves to this place. It will come to us. Am I right?" Roku looked to the 1st.

The 1st nodded.

"If that is so..." 23rd asked. "Then how much you didn't know anything of Slavian, 1st?"

The 1st said, "This place is just as dangerous as it is rewarding. If you ask, it will tell you. But if you do not ask, or ask for information that is detailed enough, it will overwhelm you with answers. Even spirits have been known to become unstable in this place... or even lose themselves to it. This place answers your questions to the extent of answering every single aspect of it you could never have imagined you were asking. Quite simply, I never knew of Slavian, so I never thought to inquire of him. I could not just ask non-specific questions."

Roku nodded and closed his eyes. Before he began meditating, the 1st said, "Be wary, Roku. The infinite is no place for us. As soon as you start learning, you must focus on the question in your mind and pull back as soon as you can, lest the tide overwhelms you."

"Then... let us be silent. I must focus."

Roku opened himself.

* * *

Images without number passed through Roku's mind. He saw contintents and islands shift with time. On the land were great forests and deserts disappearing and reapparing one moment to the next over the infinite time. In each forest he saw trees, and in his desert were dunes. Yet he did not miss the trees for the forest, nor the sand for the desert. Rather, he saw everything. Every tree. Every branch. Every twig. Every leaf. The very veins flowing through each leaf and every cell they were composed of. In the deserts he saw every grain of sand as a unique object of the universe. Each sand had its own atomic "ID" and recognition.

A slap interrupted the images and Roku jumped back in fright. The 1st withdrew his hand and said firmly, "You must focus, Avatar Roku. Do not lose yourself."

Roku looked down at himself and realized he was shaking. Spirits were not supposed to feel exhaustion, hunger, or anything of the sort; yet he felt he was sweating from exhaustion. He had spent an eternity seeing more... than frankly he could register. He saw planets come and go, as well as everything on them. If he thought about it, he saw entire galaxies down to the atomic level.

The knowedge... Roku wasn't sure if it was horrifying in its maginitude or astonishing in its complexity. If he had ever thought there was a God on a higher level than the rest of the spirits, now was it. He had seen more than what should have been possible. If he was mortal, he would have had an aneurism already. He was a spirit and shouldn't have "physical" symptoms and he could swear he was having a migraine enough to blur his senses already.

"H-How long was I-I in... there." Roku struggled to say. He mentally slapped himself, he shouldn't be shaking. He was more disciplined than this.

"Just long enough for me to slap you. A second at most." The 1st responded.

A second?! Roku stared at him wide-eyed for a moment before glancing over at the 23rd. The 23rd Avatar nodded in agreement.

Roku sighed and worked to compose himself. He had seen enough for an eternity, and it was but a second! The sheer complexity of the knowledge was maddening, but the quantity of it only magnified it all.

Sensing his thoughts on his face, the 1st said, "That is why you have to focus, Avatar Roku. You are looking for a Champion of Slavian in a time before record, before me. Focus on me if you have to, and go backwards. You have to focus on one object alone, lest the rest overtake you."

Roku nodded. 23rd put his hands on Roku's shoulders comfortingly, and he apprecited it. Roku returned to meditating, and tried to focus.

the images returned, sounds overtook him, and his senses neared their limit, but Roku was prepared for this. A single word entered his mind, and he focused on it.

Avatar.

Instantly, the life of every Avatar entered him. The 1st, to Aang and Korra, and to those beyond. He saw hundreds of Avatars before his time, and thousands more after yet to come. Some would wage war, whereas as others would prevent it. Many would live on the run surrounded by war and death and war, and others would know peace.

Roku grunted with the effort. He wanted so badly to see them all. They were his future, his past, but the line of the Avatar was almost as endless as the Universe itself. If he strayed and allowed himself to peer into it, who knows what else he would see. Instead, he focus on the Avatars prior to himself.

Avatars before Roku.

Out of the millions of lifetimes in his mind, only a few hundred stayed while the rest disappeared as a gust of air. Among them he saw the 23rd. The 23rd Avatar, in life, was a mighty champion who felt he was too strong in the elements. So he chose restraint and limited himself to the more mortal menes of fighting. He only used his power when fully necessary, but he resisted and trained other benders to not use their power too much, lest they make themselves appear more than they are. They are human after all, just as the non-benders. No need to make yourself seem special.

Roku allowed a brief smile under the thought, but pulled away quickly. The 23rd's life was private, as were all of his past lives. He would only be insulting himself to peer too closely.

Roku focused on the 1st.

The 1st Avatar was one born of the spirits in the forest and adopted by passerbys. He was an enigma of curiositys. He was as carefree as the wind itself, patient as stone, adaptable and intelligent as water, and had a slow temper at times that, when finally crossed, made him as emotional as an inferno. He did not spend much time in society and building the nations in their beginning, but rather spent his time among the land healing its pains. The 1st was born into an age where the land was misshappen and torn asunder. There was no organization to it, and the world almost tore itself apart.

The 1st's greatest act and purpose was to stabilize a dying world. The world had been torn apart in a war he had never seen. He would walk among great ruins of kingdoms before his time with stone so fresh it had yet to collect dust. the corpses of spirits layed in the wilderness, and he worked with the few remaining in the mortal world to-

A great blue dragon layed in an empty castle. It's body was cut in half down the middle and its blood poured out as water enough to fill an ocean. Its water-blood was being used to feed the desert. The 1st looked to it, and mourned for it. The beast spirit was not dead. The 1st tried to heal the dragon, but whatever had cut her, was a blade that allowed no wound to heal. It was a blade that pierced into the very DNA of the person, the spirit. He could not restore the dragon to its original state of being healed, because as far as the body was concerned, this was what it should be.

Even as the 1st looked upon it, the wound on the dragon expanded and half of its body fell off the bone. The dragon screamed a skeletal roar.

The 1st swore vengeance on the king to commit this abomination, and Roku felt his fury as his own. The beast was a spirit, left to rot in a garden and pour out blood in unlimited gallons. The dragon turned its weakened head to the 1st, to Roku, and said, "The 'Golden King'... is no more... his... punishment is complete... finish it." The dragon-spirit looked to the 1st in agony and suffering and begged of him with a voice in his mind so strong it horrified him, "FINISH IT!"

The 1st screamed into the sky and brought down the full fury of fire and flame into the suffering dragon. It died.

Roku pulled himself out of it before he allowed the raging emotions to pull him further in. Feeling his concentration wane, Roku focused on the time prior to 1st.

The images shifted, and the world reformed itself to reveal an age prior to their own. The continents were different, and the people even more so. Never before had Roku seen the type of people he looked upon, nor did he recognize their ways. He saw a race worship a race called the Ancestors, he saw others that-

He saw the Council of Dozen among them. He saw the villainy and madness of Caius, the love and care of Kure'Gane, the devotion of others and... Boum.

Boum was the greatest of the Council, second only to Slavian. Not because Boum was intelligent, which he wasn;'t, but because his sheer power was more than any other Councilman.

Boum was, frankly, stupid. He referred to himself in the 3rd person, and had the mentality and innocence of a child. He was capable of killing millions, but his simplicity made him not understand how many he killed. He was devoted to Slavian. After all, several of the Council grew up with Slavian as children of the same age and friends. When Slavian told him to do something, he did it, and he didn't question. His trust made his conscience clean and allowed him to be a care free Councilman.

He loved animals, children... Despite his power, he was able to show restraint and be gentle only with children for some odd reason. Girls loved to color animals on his armor he always wore. More than once he went into battle covered in chalk ponies and flowers.

Roku felt his mind nearly break as pain overtook him. "Just a little more!" Roku pushed.

He bore a spear weighing... tons.

No! Roku cursed. Something we can use!

Boum was best friends to Izthark most of all, as The Hunter watched him as a big brother. He helped Boum know when to use his power.

A power... of...

Roku's vision blurred and he fell into darkness.


	13. Chapter 13 - Entering Mymphis Ryol

"Just because a plague has broken out is no reason to isolate the undercity! I know that the people are starting to flock to the Eternal Hand for a cure. I **know** that rationality points to them as a potential threat, but it would be an injustice to the people and to the entire city to destroy the ramps and elevators the join us to the undercity! Such measures will by no means keep us safe. Just look around! People are becoming sick, and while I am not a doctor, it is not unreasonable to assume that this plague has already been exposed to those around us! Officials already speculate that this plague has been in the work for weeks, and has already infected the entire city long before any symptoms appeared. If you go through with this then you are not doing it out of survival, but out of radical desperation! No. No! I am not saying we should bow to this new gang and beg them for treatment ourselves, do not take my words out of context, but we should face the truth that perhaps it is already too late."

Tenzin's address to the City Council that morning.

* * *

Peace. Peace was something Mako was used to, and had taken for granted.

All of his life he had been at peace. Sure, life was rough. His parents died was the highlight of his childhood, but he had been forced to make peace with it in order to keep his little brother alive. Someone needed to suck up the tears and make sure they got somewhere in a rapidly changing world.

Growing up had been tough. They had been affiliated with gangs for a little while, and his patience was tested endlessly, but he was at peace with it. His brother was alive, he was alive. They may not have been rich or had a lot of luxuries, but they had each other. What more did he need? Mako didn't have any grand ambition beyond pushing himself at his sports. He didn't go around causing problems for himself or his family, and he didn't go out of his way to hurt people.

Sure, things could have been better, but it was peaceful.

The fight with the Equalists and Amon and meeting Korra though... that had stirred him up. Mako had entered the fight with a cool head built from a life-time of discipline, and never allowed himself to be pushed too far.

But Korra...

Mako turned over and looked at his wife. Korra had this thing about her that even though she gave him more peace than before, along with it came the opposite. Admittedly, he had been worried and infuriated when she was captured and hurt in the fight with Amon, but recently with the new addition to their team, Nel'Andra, Mako found his blood boiling for... perhaps the first time he truly knew.

Every time he looked at the blind man he felt the need to hit him. If it weren't for his self-discipline, he probably would have. But this wasn't him! Mako shook himself out of his thoughts. He wasn't a bastard, he wasn't cruel or spiteful.

It was just... he hurt Korra. He may have forgiven him, but that didn't mean he couldn't be watchful. He just needed to get his peace of mind to return.

_"I was like you once." Nel'Andra whispered._

Mako recalled the blind man saying that. He may not have realized he had said it, but he did, and it made Mako curious.

Oh well... he could always ask the bastard what he meant when he woke up. The bastard had been tossing and turning in his sleep all night, and it had more than once scared them out of their sleep. He constantly yelled out words, and more than a few of them sounded like names or titles. Alare, Kure'Gane, 'Master'. _Master is probably the Slavian bastard_, Mako thought. Nel'Andra had been affiliated with the guy at one time so it only made sense.

Mako's thoughts were interrupted by Korra in his arms sleeping. She lurched out and straightened violently as though she was in pain, and she groaned deeply. Mako jumped up quickly and looked around. The night was nearing its end, and there was no one around beyond the... immediate group. He had been watching her, so he knew for a fact that she wasn't hurt. Her skin was clammy from sudden cold sweat, and her clothes were quickly becoming damp with it.

Was the bastard's blood still hurting her!? Mako ground his teeth together and saw movement. He glanced over to Aang and saw he was doing the exact same thing. Both of the Avatar's were in pain.

"What the hell!" Mako breathed.

Unsure what to do, he nudged Yue awake roughly.

Yue rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and saw the Avatars, and immeditely she jumped into doing what she could. She brought water out of the air and pooled it over Korra. A tendril as an octopus leaped out of his hands to Aang and started to do the same. She started examining both of them.

"What happened?" Yue asked. Her voice was business like. She may have been a child physically, but she was still a spirit. Mako blinked at the odd combination of a person before him.

"I-I don't know. They both just started freakin' out on me." Mako said.

"Hm." Yue responded. She moved the water from one point of them both to another as though she was searching for something, but after a moment she shook her head. "I see nothing."

"How about blood?"

"What?"

Mako pointed to Nel'Andra to the side. "He infected Korra with some of his blood when he hit her. He claims he fixed it, but-"

"Did he do the same to Aang?" Yue asked worriedly.

Mako looked to Aang and shook his head. "He never touched the guy as far as I know."

Yue nodded in thought. "Might be, but let me see something."

Yue moved over to Korra and opened her eyes and moved the neckline down further on her clothes. Her eyes were shining blue and there were Avatar lines coming out on her.

"Ok! That's not a good sign." Mako whispered. His eyes widened in fright. So it wasn't the blind man's attack that was doing it, but something else entirely, something potentially worse.

"No." Yue moved to Aang and found the same. Aang's eyes were shining blue, but his lines were more obvious. "Its not. Whatever is happening is in the spirit world or affecting them in some Avatar level."

"Great. More Avatar shit." Mako groaned worriedly. He looked over to Korra and shook his head to keep his peace of mind from shattering. He was the one who protected his brother all those years, he was the one who protected Korra from the Equalists. He may not have been successful completely, but he could at least have a chance of success. It was something he could put work into with his hands and know there were results.

But this Avatar spiritual stuff... He couldn't do a thing. He could only wait, worry, watch over her body, and... nothing. He could do nothing of value. It made him feel powerless, and he hated it. Mako wasn't a control freak, he was actually very relaxed with control. He just wanted to feel he could help when shit goes down. Wasn't that normal?

Mako sat down next to Korra and put his head against his knees.

Yue frowned to him and started to speak, but before she did, both of the Avatar's sighed and relaxed. Their eyes continued to glow and the lines showed up on them, but they didn't seem to be in pain anymore.

Yue and Mako held their breathes a moment, waiting to see if anything more would happen. A minute passed by. Two minutes.

Nothing. Yue moved to the Avatars and made sure there was no physical ramifications of... whatever just happened.

"Ok." Mako started. "If that shit happens again, I'm waking up Ethoe."

Yue glanced up to the sky. The dawn was coming. "Might as well go ahead. Its morning. We should be coming near Mymphis Ryol."

Mako nodded and moved to his brother. If it weren't for the shock to his system he had just experienced, he might have found the sight amusing. His brother was clutched onto Nel'Andra's leg and murmuring in his sleep something about his pet ferret.

Mako shook Bolin. Bolin muttered. "Five more minutes, bro..."

Mako stooped down and whispered, "Sure thing. You can have all the time you want. Just make sure to be awake before Nel'Andra finds you sexually harassing him."

"Ye ye.. thats fine." Bolin groaned.

Five seconds passed, and Bolin's eyes shot open wide. He took one look at the leg.

"AH!" Bolin shrieked. He leaped back so fast and hard he knocked Asami over and she woke up instantly.

Asami panicked. "Whats going-" She took one look at Bolin's back and hit him over the head. She hit him rougher than she probably meant to. She was aggravated and still asleep.

Mako smirked briefly at the fun going on, and glanced at their blind friend. "What about him?" He asked Yue. "Should we wake him? The surgery was probably extensive."

Yue shrugged and responded. "I can see if he can awaken. I was working on him for a couple hours last night. His eyes were actually making incredible progress, it's like his regeneration is on par with my skills."

Mako whistled. "Nice."

Yue moved over to Nel'Andra and gently examined his eyes with with her water through the cloth he kept around his head. "It's not too bad. I think he can wake up without hurting his progress, provided he doesn't make too sudden movements with his head. I am still worried about how any kind of battle would effect the healing though."

Mako agreed. "Let's not undo anything and make things worse, but if you think he can wake up, do it gently please. Don't want him freakin' out on us." Last thing he wanted was a half-sleep brawl on a flying bison a mile above the ocean.

* * *

Korra gasped and sat up off the ground. She grabbed her head and blinked away the painful light of the sun. Her head ached and her body hurt just as much. All she remembered was sleeping a minute ago... now waking up to a sharp pain that made her ache. The only relief she found in waking was moving past a nightmare she had. In the last... few minutes she guessed, she had been seeing images fly through her mind.

In the image, she saw a world she did not know be overcome with a flood and stopped by a blue veil before the waters overcame some city. The blue veil came from the hands a man, too distant to see. She felt there was more to the dream, but Heaven forbid she actually recall anything!

Her thoughts were interrupted by a pained groan in front of her, and she moved her hands to see an adult Aang spirit was waking up just as she had, painfully. Korra looked at her hands. They were blue and see-through.

"We are in the spirit world." She concluded, largely to herself.

Aang shook his head weeirly and glanced around. "Looks like it... Why are we here? Did Ethoe do something to us? As nice as it is to be looking like myself again, it would have been nice to be warned first. Perhaps a nudge, postcard, something."

"I didn't notice anything." Korra responded. She had been sleeping by Mako, so she wasn't aware of anything going on around her. She briefly turned red at the thought of sleeping with him. They hadn't been married long. Sleeping with someone was taking longer than expected to wrap her head around. Mako loved it, she did too of course, but he had adapted almost instantly. Must be a male thing.

Regardless, he made her feel safe enough that while she was normally very easily awakened, it would take a full blown tornado before she would respond. If Ethoe had done anything, he would have been wasting his time.

Korra coughed in her hand to force herself to move on and clear her mind. There was no one around save for the two of them. So while there was no physical signs of them being abused, it still felt like they had been beaten up. They were in a swamp area, she gathered. The sun, or what passed as a sun in the spirit world, was pretty high. The place also was pretty quiet.

"A swamp." Korra said coldly. "Great..." She pulled her fur skirt out of some water and wrung it out. Hopefully whatever passed for water in the spirit world wouldn't make her clothes wet in the physical. Last thing she wanted to do was explain why her pants were wet. That would go wrong in many ways. She hated swamps, anyway. Cold and danky and wet, but not in a good way like the poles. Swamps were more eery and hidden and treacherous places, while the poles left little for the imagination as to what could be expected. If there was something out there, you saw it from miles away. In swamps, it could be on top of you and you wouldn't know it.

Aang seemed just as pleased as her about this. "GAAAAAH!" He yelled. "NOT AGAIN!"

"What got into you?" Korra asked.

"Not this place! I hate this place!" He seethed.

Korra turned a weery eye into the darkness. "Why? Something dangerous?" Last thing she wanted was a fight, least of all in a place like this. The few times she had been in the spirit world, she found her bending was useless.

Aang shuddered. "No. Just bad. And annoying. And bad. I don't like many of the spirits that live here, and they feel the same way about me. If they catch me here, they will be less than happy."

"Will they attack us?" Korra grew worried.

"Nah. They just don't like it."

Korra sweat dropped. _Trust you to take great offense at not being liked._ She thought.

Korra sat down and meditated on returning to the mortal world. She had practiced transitioning between the two with Aang, and while she couldn't do it instantly like he could, she had at least been able to manage without difficulty now.

What stopped her was Aang's hand on her shoulder.

Korra looked up at her older counterpart and asked, "What?"

Aang's face looked to a place behind her, and he looked dead serious. The expression was rare and rather scary since he was usually pure smiles.

Korra turned around slowly to find three people. One was a large brown man with muscles on muscles on muscles. He had fur and metal vests and two large chains over his torso. He had leather gloves with plated metal on the back of his hands. With him was a young... guy. Korra assumed he was male, but it was impossible to tell. Him being naked wasn't helping. It took all of Korra's focus not to squeal in embarassment and turn away. There was, amazingly enough, nothing on him that could be seen. No organs of any kind showing sex. The guy was like the spirits version of the ultimate unich. In the arms of the much bigger man was a somewhat lanky tall one. He was unconscious and was being carried as though he was wounded. There was something about the three of them that was... familiar.

"Roku..." Aang whispered.

"Roku?! As in Avatar Roku?" Korra asked. Aang leaped forward to them and took Roku from the man's hands. They layed him down on the ground and Aang looked him over slowly. He looked to be in anguish over the sight of his friend.

Korra glanced over the others and found they seemed to be just as achy as herself and Aang.

"Who are you! What happened?!" Aang demanded. His eyes never left Roku.

The larger man nervously patted his feet around and bowed slightly, "Avatar Benad. 23rd Avatar."

The small... boy... said, "Avatar Ichi. 1st Avatar."

_So that's how I recognized them! They are previous me's. _Korra thought.

Korra bowed with lady-like grace. It actually took a lot of bruising work with Asami before Korra had learned to pull it off perfectly through her tomboyish nature. She said, "Avatar Korra. um... I don't actually know what number I a-"

"What. Happened." Aang repeated harshly.

Korra shot him a disapproving glare. She understood that Roku was a good friend of his, but he didn't have to be rude or anything. This was completely unlike him. In a way, that only showed how serious he was. He smiled and laughed through all kinds of stuff, but it took nothing short of a life and death situation before he became hard as stone.

For probably the first time she knew him, he completely ignored her disapproval. His eyes moved sharply up from the unmoving Roku to the two people who brought him there to them.

Ichi frowned and said, "It would be best if you don't know specifics, but we were gathering information to aid you. He was... overloaded. You no doubt feel the effects yourself." Ichi referred to the aching. He flexed his shoulders painfully to show his point.

"And what were you two doing?" Aang interrogated them. His eyes grew a little red with tears that had not burst out yet.

Bened was taken aback by his blaming tone. Korra had half a mind to tell him to be quiet, but he was silently grieving. Ichi took the blow to his conscious clearly.  
He slumped.

The 1st Avatar said, "Avatar Aang. Understand something. He took the step willingly, knowing he may be lost to it in order to aid you. Trust me when I say that the journey he took, he took alone not by unwillingness on anyone's part, but because it is a journey that can only be taken alone. I instructed him on how to procede, and it is perhaps solely because of that and his mental discipline that he was ever able to succeed in finding anything of value before he fell into his coma."

"So he is in a coma..." Aang stated. He closed his eyes and massaged his temples. He forced himself to breathe, and after a moment he looked more composed. He clearly expected something worse. He looked back to Roku sadly.

"It may have been much worse, were it not for the fact that he is an Avatar." Ichi theorized.

"What makes you think that?" Korra asked.

"The moment he should have died, pain and fragments of knowledge rippled out through the Avatars. He was left able to speak for scarce seconds before falling into his coma. I have yet to meet Avatars beyond the four of us, but it is reasonable to assume that you two felt the pain and saw the fragments just as we did, yes?"

Korra nodded. "I had a nightmare, I felt like my head was going to explode, and right now I could use a hot bath... and sleep. I feel like I've been through a couple final rounds in pro bending." A nice hot bubble bath sounded real good. Her legs felt like iron and she had bricks in her back.

Korra knew the Avatars shared a link in many ways, but for this link to keep one from something by sharing pain and "knowledge", however that could be bad, through the link, it only made her wonder just how deep it went.

Aang's attention still hung over Roku. Korra looked to him sadly and asked Ichi, "You said he found something in the end?"

"Yes."

"What did he find?"

"He said a few things. You are facing Boum and Izthark soon. Know that the two are best friends, and are opposites. Boum is unintelligent, strong, and sluggish. Izthark is a genius of adapting, skilled, and fast. He watches over Boum as a big brother would of one who is so retarded, and Boum protects him at times as well. They both love children, despise injustice, yet are deathly loyal to Slavian since they are among the original 'Councilman' who grew up with him as childhood friends. Lastly, and Roku stressed this out greatly for some reason, Boum's swing is equal to 1020E.G."

"1020 E.G." Korra repeated. It didnt ring a bell, but it sounded like a measurement. Was it speed? She might have to ask Asami if it meant anything to her.

Ichi nodded. "He stressed that out. I think he means something by it, but he fell into darkness before explaining why it is relevant."

"Thank you for telling us." Korra bowed. She looked to Aang. He still sat down on his knees by Roku. He probably hadn't heard a word of it. "And for helping him."

Ichi nodded and motioned to Benad. Benad took up Roku in his arms. Aang, sadly enough, didn't appear to notice. His sad countenance focused him into the ground. His head stayed drooped and his eyes never left the indention where Roku marked the ground just a moment ago.

"We will take Avatar Roku where he may recuperate." Ichi stated. He nodded respectfully and wished them good luck before they left.

* * *

"Aang?" Korra asked.

His defeated form sat on the ground. His head was bowed low, his shoulders slumped, and his hands layed in the mud loosly. He didn't move short of some mild shaking, and he didn't make a sound. Korra recalled he was always vibrant and happy and himself, but this was another side she had never seen nor expected. He looked almost like he was giving up on something.

She slowly walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. He visibly flinched and dove away as though her hand was on fire. His eyes widened with shock and he looked like he had a panic attack.

_Just how deeply in thought was he?_ She wondered.

Seeing he, he shook himself out of his thoughts and composed himself slightly. A dark emotion flashed across his face before disappearing. He stood up, brushed himself off, and said sternly, "Lets return to the others, they will be expecting us."

Korra blinked in surprise, seeing the massive shifts in emotion over him, and gritted her teeth. "No." She said just as sternly.

"What?" He asked. His eyes briefly glared before he fixed himself again.

Korra crossed her arms. "I'm not leaving till you tell me what's bugging you."

He shook his head and put on a smile. It was obviously fake. Korra would have gone all-in at poker right then if she had any cards. "You don't want that, and I shouldn't be bringing it up." He waved it off as though it was nothing, and this only pissed Korra off more. She wasn't going to be working with a guy, who she respected and was learning from, if he was going to hold everything in like this. If he had a problem with her. Well, then he should be man enough to say it to her face.

"Oh? Why! Clearly your miffed."

"No, I'm not."

"Uh..." Korra glanced at his fists clenching and un-clenching with visible forced control. "Yes. You are. I know you."

Aang flinched slightly, and Korra decided to press further.

"I know that you are not the type to go for conflict, I know you are the type to avoid it, keep things in. I know people like that, Mako is a lot like that. You both keep everything in and hope it passes or disppears. But it wont!"

Aang shook his head sadly and said, "But it does... everything does. Everything dies, moves on."

"Yet here you are."

"Yes. Yes! Here I am!" Aang gestured to himself angrily. "How can I move on when I am still there! Unrecognized, unseen-"

"Is that what this is about?" Korra asked. His words confirmed her thoughts for her. "You are mad because your family doesn't recognize you?"

"You have no idea what it is like!" Aang yelled. "You have only just married. You have never had children, nor grandkids and seen them look at you... at me!-yet they don't!- What they are looking at is another kid who might as well be a playmate. I'm not their Grandfather!"

Aang stomped down and the world flashed around him briefly. Korra covered her face and felt the air as she was in a brief tornado. When the light passed, the area around them looked as though a small explosion had occurred. Aang hung in the air, and in his churning emotions did not notice what had happened. He continued, "Everyone I know is dead, Korra! Sokka! Dead, funny as he was and good of a leader... dead! Toph! One of the most hard-ass woman in history, but also had a soft spot that could have swallowed contienents! Dead! Zuko, enemy and ally, able to think on his feet and never stuck himself blindly to loyalties! Dead! Momo, Mister Iroh, Suki, Mai, Ty Lee! Even the insane Azula, dead! My enemies, my allys, all dead! APPA!" Aang punched a tree and a brief light exploded.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT IT IS LIKE TO LOSE APPA!" Aang demanded. "Now even the spirits I worked with are falling off! Roku is in a blasted coma!"

Korra did not allow him to raise her blood pressure and watched him closely. His churning emotions were more than obvious on his face, but running away was the last thing on her mind. "And Katara?" Korra asked.

"Katara is-!" Aang shut his mouth. His anger stopped suddenly in self-reflection. Korra nodded as she saw realization hit him. Katara was still alive. Aang drifted down to the ground slowly and stayed silent as he pondered.

"Your right, everything dies. Everything moves on." Korra said gently. "What you are doing is something that is risky. You should have realized everyone was dead when you came back."

"I did!" Aang burst out, but stopped himself and lowered his voice. "But to experience it... is another thing."

"Yes, and this is something no one should have to experience. This is why the dead stay dead." Korra smiled, "Who knows, you may be able to say 'hi' to Katara again."

Aang smiled at the thought and shuddered as adrenaline began to escape him. Seeing his little tantrum give off, Korra cautiously walked up to him and said, "I realize my time may be different. My friends and team may be different from your team, but I would hope you can come to accept them as well." Korra hit him in the shoulder. He winced slightly. She hadn't meant to hit him that hard, but he must not be used to rough-housing. She continued. "If you don't, I'll just keep hitting you. Besides, if you show off that light-thing you just did, Bolin is going to freak! I wouldn't mind knowing what you just did myself."

Aang looked at her questionably, to which she simply motioned around her. The spirit world immediately around them was charred as if by fire, and blown away as though by a great wind. where Aang had thrown his punch into a tree, the tree was gone as well as everything for a hundred feet left behind by a canal. Aang's eyes expanded in surprise, and Korra realized he had no idea what he had done or how he did it.

But it still meant one thing.

"I can bend." Aang breathed. He wasn't overjoyed yet, but he was cheering up. If Korra didn't know him so well, she might have thought he was whimsical in how he let his emotions drive him under the rapid changes. He was driven by emotion easily, but he also accepted and resolved things quickly with logic as well as emotion. It was something Korra was a bit jealous of. She wished she was able to see things as logically as he did.

"Yes." Korra agreed, proud of him. "But what?" The question daunted her a bit. She had never heard of a style of bending that could influence the spirit world at all. She didn't know much about the Spirit World. All she knew was from Aang and a few priests. She was even more clueless than Aang was.

After several minutes of calming down, and slowly starting to talk casually again, Aang seemed to be in higher spirits after having lost his tantrum. Yes, his friends may be dead, but so was he, as Korra reminded him. There was a kind of conclusion to that, but since he was allowed to be back for a short time... Korra had reminded him that he could see Katara. He looked forward to that most of all. He just hoped that he would be allowed to not be in disguise for her.

"Sometimes I wonder who is the master here..." Aang smiled. "I'm supposed to be the calm, collected, logical one."

Korra shrugged. She had her moments when she was able to keep her head, and others where she just wanted to lose it. She laughed. "I think your confusing calmness with just not backing down. I could say the same about you and Roku. You two are the logical ones."

"Point taken." Aang agreed.

* * *

Ethoe opened his eyes to find the rest were awake as well. What's more, they were rather lively; not that this was all together unexpected. He had come to associate both of the Avatars, and their friends, with an abundance of energy looking for interesting outlets. Yet all the same it was a tempered energy, which made them all the more fascinating to him. Perhaps it was partially why he entrusted this mission to humans so much. This overflowing energy they held, and the synergy of their bonds were something his logic could not fully comprehend.

When all logic states you will fail, the only way to succeed is to throw it away.

While cooking was difficult on a flying animal, there were still efforts to make sandwiches and keep them warm. Ethoe took his graciously and looked to the Avatars. Both were in spirit world.

One roadbump Ethoe was forced to notice recently was them. As he watched over the mechanisms last night and prepared them to reset on Boum and Izthark, there was a sudden spike amongst the Avatars. The spike was a surge of power and knowledge rippling out through the many thousands of Avatars. With each one, the power filled to the peak and threatened to overload, but Ethoe managed to allowed it to spread out and be shared by the collective. It took a fast hand and the combined resources of the collective Avatar's personal mechanisms, but whatever it was that had almost destroyed the Avatar Roku was able to be adverted.

Roku's personal own mechanism, the one that gave him his authority, his power as an Avatar, it was ultimately mishappan and crooked. It was damaged, and Ethoe almost feared it would shatter. Truth be told, it was still a possibility, but this was but a single Avatar amongst many. He decided to set it into hybernation until it could be looked at later, but for the moment, it was best to leave Roku in the state he was in until further investigation. If the Maker could not figure out what the source of the surge was, then it was dangerous to let him continue on.

Ethoe almost considered putting all Avatar's into hybernation for that matter. The surge had spread to all of them, and while they did not gain power in enough quantity to show, they obtained... something else. Ethoe was unsure what it was, but he could look closer when they were finished with the first two Councilman.

Aang and Korra both came out of their little stupors and grabbed something to eat. Ethoe was pleased to see Aang was lively again, something about his behavior had become... hidden. It was still partially hidden, but it was no longer what it was before. Korra though was still Korra, no change to note. She was fiery, outspoken, and a little bit of a prankster; yet could easily turn out and be patient, understanding, and let others take the stand. Her ability to change between the two mindsets easily was something that made her less predictable than Aang. Still, they both seemed to be in good health.

He looked to where they were going and saw a mist in the distance.

They were here.

* * *

"Mymphis Ryol." Ethoe said.

The gathering looked forward and saw a mist. It was far in the distance, but the location was no less prevalent.

"Great!" Korra said. "Maybe now I can show you guys how 'big' I can make things!"

Ethoe glanced back to her, and a single eyebrow raised. For someone who showed nothing, this spoke volumes to her. "Your attacks still have to be larger." He stated. She stuck her tongue out.

Mako packed up what remained of their food into bags and handed them off to his brother. They rolled up the sleeping bags, the blankets and utensils, the cups and other items as well into bags.

Aang asked, "Are we going into it?" His response was a nod.

"Alrighty then." Aang chuckled nervously.

"You've been here before haven't you?" Korra asked.

"Well... uh..."

Asumi finished, "No one has been."

Everyone looked to her, short of Ethoe and the blind man. Asumi explained, "Mymphis Ryol, as it seems to be called by spirits, is known by businesses and sailors as Mist Labrynth. No one has ever found anything inside of it, rather, everyone who enters finds themselves on the other side as soon as they go in."

"Memory loss?" Mako inquired.

Asumi shrugged. "At first, people thought so, but you know scientists had to go in and pick it apart. The mist is ten miles in diameter, and the time it takes to cross it is seconds. It has become a convenient short cut for trading routes since there is no reasonable explanation of why this is." She looked to Ethoe. "At least nothing... logical."

Ethoe shrugged. He answered her accusation head on, "Logical by mortal means. Your assumption is correct. This region is filled with spirits who ensure no one enters. We care little what 'resourcefulness' you all have found for this law, but in so long as there is no breach, we keep on. Mymphis Ryol is a prison of the Council of Dozen and of Slavian." Nel'Andra stiffened.

"Will we be allowed in?" Aang asked.

Nel'Andra crawled forward closer to the front and hissed, "We are here to ki- fight them! We should be."

Ethoe simply nodded. Aang looked to the blind man worriedly. Nel'Andra had gone from being silent... to almost craving battle. Aang glanced back to Yue and they locked glances a moment, but it was enough for him to know they both shared the same worry.

Korra leaned back and looked out over the size of the mist as they came closer. It was huge! It was almost mind-boggling and defied the imagination.

"Is that how big he's been talking?" Korra asked herself.


End file.
